


War Of Souls - Black Clover Fanfiction

by Ankhashiva



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, Blood and Violence, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Mythology - Freeform, Mythology References, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Violence, i'll add tags when i'll find more, some crazy stuff i've been writing for years
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:13:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 60,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24164179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ankhashiva/pseuds/Ankhashiva
Summary: Two worlds, two sides of the same coin and an enemy wanting to destroy them.It was by wanting to protect the Earth from this enemy that she found herself projected into this other world, gravely wounded, in the Clover Kingdom.A man, whom she took for an angel, saved her life. But what she didn't know is that she should save his in turn.Because the enemy doesn’t just want these two worlds. He also resents these two people who, together, could change fate itself.This story starts a few days before Asta joining the Black Bulls.
Relationships: Julius Novachrono/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 20





	1. Titan and Wormhole

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so...  
> This is my first work, I'm a bit stressed because it's my baby. It's a bit self-insert, I must admit, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway 😖

My hands tremble. My body gradually freezes, my heart accelerates, ready to get out of its cage. I can only concentrate on the grass under my feet, everything else is just blurry and deafening noise. I know I have to fight, but I’m scared.

_Why do I have to live these horrors? Could I not have kept my old life?_

My negative thoughts squeeze my heart like an indestructible vice, my enemy has just changed. It is no longer this omnipotent titan, but my own fear. I have become my worst enemy.

_How many people are going to die because of me?_

This simple thought mingles with my infernal spiral, I drown under my own weight, my knees hit the ground. My hands are unconsciously gripping my hair, I can’t even feel the pain as I'm pulling on them, prey to my anxiety attack. I don’t have the strength to cry, I can only endure.

_It’s not like I chose this life._

I sink into terror, my weaknesses rise to the surface. It is easier for me to fall into this pit of darkness, my visceral fear of death disappears, it seems to me so much sweeter.

_I’m just a human. not a warrior._

A warm hand rests on my shoulder and breaks my cycle of self-destruction.  
"You’re not alone." I’m reassured by a distorted voice.  
I inhale deeply, my lungs hurt. My body is stiff and sore. The owner of this warm hand lifts me and supports me, through his silver mask I feel his benevolence. Little by little, my senses return. The Southern sun burns my eyes. The sounds of the spells reach my eardrums, the smell of burning tickles my nostrils, but also the smell of black musk and sandalwood emanating from my Guide. It all comes back to me. My goal, my determination, my calm.  
I take a last look behind me, the imposing mansion nestled in the heart of the Garrigue is still intact. I have loved ones to protect, a task to accomplish. Whether I like it or not, it has haunted me for far too long.

_It has haunted me for so long... and so little time at a time. What a schizophrenia._

I gently detach myself from my Guide's support, eyes fixed on the fight that rages before me. James is doing his best to contain the damned Titan that floats in the air, Damien in reinforcement with his sacred claymore. They gradually lose the rhythm, it is up to me to finish this madness. I can no longer stand that bastard's evil laugher. I move faster and faster towards my dear friends, my hands vibrating stronger and stronger, sparks gushing from them to turn into waves of scarlet flames. Their heat is intense but does not make me suffer. These flames reflect my hopes and anger. The Titan is preparing to launch a powerful attack on James. In the blink of an eye, I take a superhuman impulse and end up in a fraction of a second facing him, creating from my flames a shield protecting my back. The shock wave caused by the Titan’s attack shakes my shield and makes me tremble, but I hold on. James is out of breath, he’s in no condition to fight. The attack I am undergoing suddenly stops, but there is a strange energy – unknown to me – that replaces it. The Titan also seems overwhelmed by this emanation. My stupor is great when I see Damien and my Guide summoning a blue wormhole a few meters from us. James' electric blue eyes stare at both men. He nods, I don’t understand what’s going on. He flickers his jet hair before he looks at me tenderly. "Run," he told me, quite simply. "No," I said, categorically. "I’m afraid you don’t have a choice, princess." He said, taunting.  
And without warning, he projects me forcefully towards my two allies. I stagger before hitting myself against my Guide's torso. "Don’t worry, you won’t be alone where you are going." echoes the distorted and metallic voice of my Guide. The Titan roars to the fullest, whatever my allies have reserved for me, it does not seem to enchant him. It is then that everything starts to accelerate. The Titan launches in our direction a destructive ray, my Guide hugs me one last time before swinging me in the vortex, Damien invokes a shield of light to try to counter the attack of the Titan by looking at me one last time, a look full of sadness. Unfortunately, his attack hid another one, and I took it in my stomach. I hear Damien and my guide shouting my name, and I can only pronounce theirs.  
"Damien! Aether!"

The thrill of diving into the wormhole is the last thing I remember.

**********************************************************************************

Darkness. The sensation of falling into the void, to infinity. Sharp pain in the abdomen. Then, an intense, bright light. The freshness of the soil on my skin, a slightly lukewarm breeze. A ray of sunshine. Then, the oxygen that suddenly enters my lungs.  
As I struggle to catch my breath, I open my eyes with some difficulties. Let’s try to understand the current situation. I’m trying to sit down as hard as I can, that damn belly wound may have stopped bleeding, but I can’t stay in the woods.

_Wait... but... I’m not in France anymore!_

This landscape, I do not recognize it at all. From the green nature as far as the eye can see, from the nose I am in a forest. I smell the sweet smell that emanates from Mother Gaia, the air and so pure here!

_Wait... this is no time to be dreaming. I have a hole in my stomach._

Somewhat disturbed by my lack of references, I decided to get up, to find a way, any way, to heal myself. Yes, I am powerful, but I only control my fire magic. Healing is not my forte. Destruction, it is.  
What are my options? Knowing that it’s daylight, I can’t help myself from the stars. And even if it were dark, there would be a risk that the stars would not be the same as on Earth.  
I’m going to have to act on instinct. Or on deduction. I believe I am on a relatively traveled path, the earth is loose and nothing grows there, contrary to what I see around me. Emerald grass makes me nostalgic.

_No time to daydream, I said!_

I shake my head to put the neurons in place, and I take the path to my right. That’s what I always do, when I’m lost or when I play video games with mazes and puzzles. Except for one mistake, and I’m going straight to the chop shop. Too bad, come what may, but it would be a shame if all these efforts to send me here end up turning into global carnage by my mere stupidity at the moment. I move slowly, my right hand on my belly to try to alleviate the pain. Trees, always trees. And not a living soul. I keep walking, my breath gradually stabilizes. Stress gives way to fatigue, I’ve already lost a lot of blood between my world and here. The sun is gradually falling and I don’t feel like I’ve moved on while I’ve been walking for hours. I finally see the edge of the forest. I drop a big sigh of relief and start to accelerate the step, then run, up to it.

_You’re right, it’s a great idea, running when you’re on the verge of death. Dummy._

My reason and my heart is a story of humour. I am human, after all. Finally...  
I finally pass the forest but my legs let go. I fall heavily on the kneecaps, the earth begins to turn.

_Technique of the mega-slap!_

And I slap myself, so I don’t pass out.

_Saved, for now._

I don’t know where I draw my last strength, but I get up again like a disabled person. Wait... Are these houses in front of me? I bend my eyes to see the building in front of me, it may be the beginning of twilight but, having no real energy, I can only see a tangle of stones that form a sort of giant mansion in Ikea kit.

_What the fuck is this world?_

I move towards this building, a new hope in me, and then my whole body stiffens. The cold envelops me little by little, my senses blur, I am clearly not alone.

_What are these sick energies?_

In one last effort, I raise my head and see the sources of these energies approaching me. I can only distinguish silhouettes, colours. Black, white, red, gold, and purple. The time to blink and the most colorful figure is in front of me. My heart misses a beat. The man stares at me intensely, looking preoccupied. And I find only one thing to say before I pass out for good.  
“That’s it, I’m dead, they sent me an angel.”

********************************************************************************

_I can still see myself in the middle of the Garrigues, in the hills behind my grandparents' mazet. I’m with Mom and Dad, it’s nice and we went to get asparagus. Dad hands me, he found an asparagus bush. It shows me how to recognize them and pick them. Mom passes me a small bag where the other asparagus collected are. I delicately put my own pick, all proud._  
_How did this very place become the scene of a thousand-year-old war?_

  
********************************************************************************


	2. Dream or Reality?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our young lady wakes up in a strange bedroom. Is she really awake? It can be real, this person... Is supposed to be dead!

I feel so good... It’s nice, the sheets are soft, the cushion is soft. The mattress is just right. I don’t want to open my eyes. I stretch my whole body, my bones cracking. Ah! My grandmother’s hip, it made its usual "bum!"  
On the other hand, my back doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s funny. My belly wound doesn’t hurt either. I had to dream, that must be it.  
I finally deign to open my eyes and then I sit, I look in front of me to observe my environment. I am in a king-size bed, very Victorian style, the room in which I find myself is of the same style, as in the French castles. Moldings, colorful drapes, luxurious carpets.   
To my right, a table and chairs near the windows all along the wall, letting the light of day pass. To my left, my father. MY FATHER???  
  
"Dad?" I exclaimed, stunned.  
The chair next to me is occupied by my father. My father, who has been dead for five years. He looks exactly like the man he was before his cancer. The Spanish archetype of the man constantly tanned, the short and black hair of his early baldness, the brown eyes and his beard cut into a goatee. It has its usual black Mao collar top and its pants that goes with it.  
Yeah, actually, I dreamt. All along. Or I just freaked out.  
My eyes are troubled by my coming tears, neither one nor two I throw myself into the arms of my beloved father, crying like a madeleine.  
  
"Dad, Dad! I had a horrible dream..." I whine while Dad gently caresses my hair.  
  
"What is going on in cariña?" he replied in an encouraging voice.  
Between two sobs, I find the courage to embark on the narrative of this nightmare.  
  
«Inside... I was twenty-five years old. You had been dead for five years, almost six, and I... I had become a kind of bastard goddess, there was a titan who wanted to kill me, then.... I was thrown into another world, seriously injured... The last thing I remember was seeing an angel.”  
I said all that in a child’s voice. After all, my father was there, so I am still a child... No?  
Dad observes me for a few seconds and then resumes.  
  
"This angel... Can you describe it to me? Can you do it?"  
  
Dad is a healer, he knows everything about angels. The question does not seem strange to me, for him every dream has a meaning. Reinstalling myself on the bed, cross-legged, I plunge again into the remains of the dream, to describe to him as best as possible the divine apparition.  
  
"Hm... He was dressed in red and he was really tall. I think he was blond, but what struck me was his eyes. He had beautiful amethyst eyes! And what a gorgeous man! I would have met such a man on Earth, I can tell you I would do him in a minute with fudge and a cherry on top.. though... I would have made it for all my meals!”  
I get lost in my dreams by imagining again the famous blond angel so much that a giggle escapes from my mouth. My father clears his throat and then takes my hand. A serious look is painted on his face.  
  
“I fear that everything you have experienced so far is not a dream, my daughter. Everything you have told me, you have experienced.” He tells me, out of the blue. My jaw falls by itself. A point of pain pierces my skull. It all comes back to me.  
  
My accident on my birthday, my powers, Aether, the wormhole, my friends, my family. It all comes back to me in a flash. But there are a lot of questions in my head. I let myself fall on my back.  
  
"If all is true... Why is it that you are here, alive?" I let go, painfully. My throat is tightening, I don’t want it to be a new illusion, a dream in a dream.  
  
“That’s a hell of a story I’ll tell you later, you have other issues to deal with right now.” continues my father, with a reassuring smile. I am indeed alive in this world. It could be said, in short, that when I died on Earth, I was reincarnated here, and I continued my life without having to be reborn. There is no cancer.»  
  
My heart tightens, I dreamed of this moment so much that once in front of this moment I do not know what to do. I then decide to leave the bed.  
  
"You have spare clothes in the trunk in front of the bed, you must want to take a shower to get your ideas in place. I’ll wait for you in the living room, and we’ll have lunch afterwards if you’re hungry.” Dad tells me.  
  
  
 _Dad, you know the day I’m not hungry is the day I’m either sick or dead._  
  
  
I look in the famous brown solid wood trunk and actually I find clothes that seem to be my size. I take them in the arms as well as the pair of boots that goes with them, then Dad guides me to the bathroom. We go through the bedroom door, into the living room.  
At the windows, always to the left, there is a crackling and warm fireplace. The sofa looks just as warm and comfy. On the right, another door, and in front, another door.  
  
  
 _Doors EVERYWHERE! It’s like Fort Boyard, it’s crazy._  
  
  
“The bedroom was the size of my old apartment...” I say, outraged.  
Dad laughs out loud. I sulk.  
  
“Are you making fun of your daughter after this moving reunion?” I say, ironically.  
  
“You haven’t seen everything, so I’m not done laughing!” And he’s pushing the door in front of us.  
I go in, and I think my jaw has lost all its muscles.  
  
"Fuck...." I swear, shocked by the opulence of this bathroom.  
Marble as far as the eye can see, in the right corner of the bathroom is a large bathtub, not the usual tube bathtub, the kind of fancy marble bathtub where if you lie down in it, you can float and not touch nooks and crannies. On the left, a Italian shower, in the lower corner, luxurious toilets.  
  
«The expression 'going to the commode' takes all its meaning» I let go, stunned by the surprises that accumulate.  
My father burst into another hearty laugh, his hand caressing my head. He leaves the bathroom, leaving me alone with my heart that could explode at any moment.  
I’m taking a quick shower. I get rid of my nightgown, put it in the wicker basket near the shower, then I go in, put the water on high temperature (if it’s not more than 86°F, I’m unhappy.) While washing myself, I try to understand my situation.  
  
If what’s going on is really true, that my father is real, that I was sent here for a reason, it’s that I’m not going to stay here forever. I know myself, deep down I’m emotional, I don’t have to get carried away or connect with anyone, especially if I’m just passing through this world.  
  
  
 _Or if something bad happens._  
  
  
I’ll let Dad know, hope he didn’t mention me. On this decision, I finish my ablutions, dry myself with a huge towel – and super soft, it's to the limit of the legal – then observe my clothes.  
The underwear are simple but comfortable, a black bra and a black boxer in cotton, and at my size. Strange, Dad knew me with much less breasts, how did he know about my physical change? I put on the black leather pants as well as a somewhat complicated bustier, with interlacing on the belly. Soft socks and high boots matching the pants.  
What about the jacket? Beautiful. Red, girded, with Mao collar, and that descends all along my body.  
  
  
 _Dad always had a great taste in fashion, which reminds me of when he was still alive on Earth._  
  
  
I smile at that thought. I try to straighten my hair still wet, it is a real hell, no matter what magical transformations I go through. Short hair is handy, but I still look like a toucan after a rave party.  
I drop a sigh and then I leave the bathroom. Dad is sitting on the couch, a book in hand. He looks at me with a big smile.  
  
"It suits you very well, Cariña. You really look like the people of this world."  
I’m giggling at his remark.  
  
"Dad... can I ask you a question before we go?" I start, a little nervous.  
He closes his book and signals me to continue.  
  
"I don’t know if you told anyone about me, or if you gave my name but..." He nods, it looks like he sees where I’m going.  
  
"But you don’t want anyone to know who you really are?" He ends, as if it were obvious.  
  
"Yes, that’s it. I don’t know how long I’m going to stay, but I know I’m going back to Earth to finish what I left. Did you say my name to anyone in this world?" I ask, nervous.  
  
"No, don’t worry. The only person who knows you’re here is the Wizard King, and I only mentioned you by calling you my daughter so you can give him a different name than yours. By the way, it's with him that we will have lunch, we will take the opportunity to explain some things about this world to you."  
  
The Wizard King? This title sounds very... Important. I swallowed, stress rising in me. Dad walks out of the room, puts his hand on the handle and turns to me.  
  
"Shall we go?"  
"When you have to go..."

  
  
[Heroine's outfit ](https://imgur.com/ZSmW8nk)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Breakfast in heaven... Or hell?  
> I'm setting little by little our heroine's plot but don't worry, you will quickly find Black Clover's universe!  
> Even if I added my own "Chara-design" you are free to imagine your own heroine! I won't describe her hair color, eyes color BUT sometimes I'll write her hair lenght, you'll see later why.


	3. Lunch in hell or paradise?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to learn more about this world.  
> Wait... Is it the angel???

We leave the room to arrive in a huge corridor. Very high ceiling, wide, with some luxurious paintings here and there, and cold. Dad leads the way, I follow him closely. I hate being left in ignorance, so I decide to break the silence.

" It looks huge here. Are we in a castle?"

Papa answers me, a little smile in the corner. "Right, this castle is five hundred years old, or more, it houses the royal families and the Wizard King."  
My eyes are wide open. "What am I doing here?! I’m not a royal!!"

My father is not laughing this time. " Let’s just say that when you first came into this world, you were in pretty bad shape, luckily for you, you came across the most reactive man in this realm. He brought you here and I healed you."

_The most reactive man in the kingdom? Is this the famous angel?  
  
_ I am so stunned that I do not notice the moment when we left the inside of the castle. We enter – in a few ways – a large white stone terrace with a wrought iron table, four matching chairs and, to my delight, a feast. Platters of fruit, magnificent cakes, meat, fish...

_Oh! Salmon!_

_  
  
_I refrain from drooling in front of the salmon. My stomach begins to make a trombone solo. I go to the table, timidly admiring its contents. I didn't know that croissants would exist in this world! Wonderful! And fruit juices, wine! I shudder on the spot, happy to see food. Yes, I'm a woman of taste, I love good food and good drink. My mental selection of dishes to devour first is disturbed by the arrival of monstrous energy. I freeze for a few seconds, uncertain of how to behave. I turn around and I find myself face to face in front of a red mass that was not there before. I look up and I swear I saw my soul leave my body.

  
_Oh, my brain was just euthanized._

  
  
The angel... The angel is there!!! My eyes grow so big in front of the apparition that I could lose them at any time. Blond, tall, a red cape with a white fur decorated with medals and a gold chain, with a single sleeve on the right arm. I can also see other layers of clothing under this cape that would make a Camargue bull blow a hose.

  
  
_An angelic millefeuille?_

  
  
I look frightened at my father, then at the man. I had to do this a little too many times because the man gave me a gentle smile, as if to reassure me.

  
 _Failed_ _._

 _  
_My father takes his place at the table, and, in my great Earth and French splendour, comes out of my most beautiful voice: _"Aahhh.. Ahhh..._ _أبي_ _! كنت أعرف أنني كنت ميتا_ _! هناك أنت، الملاك وطاولة مليئة بالطعام_ _! "  
_ _(DAD! I KNEW THAT I WAS DEAD!!! There you are, there is the angel and a table full of food!!!!)_

 _  
  
__I did it again._

When I’m stressed, I speak either Greek or Arabic. It seems that my Egyptian side has won the round. Dad seems to have understood what I said, his eyes shine so much the tears accumulate by his laughter. The angel has gone from incomprehension to laughter. My behaviour is certainly comical, from his point of view.

_Go ahead, make fun of the girl from another world._

Lost, I began to make hundred steps on the terrace, my brain having resumed its full functions and its original language. I try to analyze the situation when my father stops me, probably out of fear that I'll dig a furrow by going back and forth. He grabs my arm and pinch it hard.

"Ouch!!! Are you crazy?" I scream, still graceful.

"I pinch you to show you that you’re not dreaming, Cariña," says my father.  
  
I realize the truth in a second. I'm alive, in another world, and I have just humiliated myself before a stranger whom I have just called – once again – an angel (even if it was in another language). Mortified, I turn to this man and I bow a dozen times apologizing at a dizzying speed. I think I just finished him off, he laughs, arms folded against his belly. His laughter is sincere and invigorating, his expression is childish.

"Excuse me, I’m not making fun of you at all, the situation is just... Unusual!" he said, catching his breath.

 _  
  
__Damn... His voice is really sweet. PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!  
_

 _  
_"My name is Julius Novachrono. I'm the 28th Wizard King of the Clover Kingdom" he smiles.

"Nice to meet you, Wizard King! My name is... Yuki!" I articulate, introducing myself... In a way.

"Nice to meet you, too, _Yuki_ _."_ He insists on the first name. Did he already busted me?

_WHY DID I CHOOSE MY CAT’S NAME?!!_

I swallow my saliva, nervous. He reaches out to me to greet me. I grasp it, gathering all my courage at my disposal. His handshake is firm and soft at the same time, his hands are callous but warm. My handshake? As always, manly.

I cross his eyes and, my God, I feel like I put my fingers in an electrical outlet. It should be illegal to have such intense, magnetic eyes. It looks like he’s trying to see through my soul, it’s exhilarating and very embarrassing at the same time. What is that impression...?

Oh, I didn’t see that tattoo above his eye. A blue star with 6 branches? There are tattoo artists in this world...?  
  
"Hum." Dad breaks this disturbing moment – for me – and we break the handshake. The Magic King shows me the chair next to my father and encourages me to sit down.

"You must be hungry, don't hesitate!" His good mood is contagious.

I sit next to Papa, the Wizard King in front of me, back to the garden.

"José told me a little about you but left me the pleasure of discovering you by myself! Tell me, what was that language you just used?" He leans on the table, leaning towards me, his eyes sparkling with haste, shining like stars.

 _  
__He is as curious as a child discovering the world. Adorable! NO! DON’T THINK SO! IS YOUR RESOLUTION THAT WEAK?_

"It’s a language of my world, of course. It’s Arabic!" I answer him, avoiding the awkward details. I’ve already filled up on embarrassment for a century, I’m not going to dig even deeper my grave of shame.

"Fascinating! How many languages do you speak? How many languages exist in your world? What is the most spoken language?" asks the Wizard King.  
As I think about all these questions while scratching my chin, Papa serves us a drink. A glass of wine for them and a glass of juice for me. I hate drinking alcohol while I eat. Except for parties, but that’s another story.

How many languages do I speak...?

_Oh! I speak them all! You know, I’m not a normal human being, it’s like I have an automatic translator grafted into my brain!_

_  
_  
I bite the inside of my cheek as every time I am thinking, my answer finally found.

"So... I speak eleven languages, there are seven thousand languages in my world without counting the dialects and the most spoken language is Chinese." Say, before I drink a sip of my drink.

"Yuki has always been very good with foreign languages, she studied them." My father told the Wizard King, proud as a peacock. He glances at me that only I can understand. I send him the same, grateful to follow me in my semi-truths. The Wizard King does not seem to be the type of man to be rolled around in flour easily and I do not want to disrespect the man who saved my life.  
  
"It’s great! I hope one day to hear you speak these different languages! It's so exhilarating to discover a new world!" he told me, no longer hiding his curiosity. I laugh gently behind my glass before resting it.

The Wizard King beckons us to serve us and directs his hand to the vegetables and meat, filling his plate. Dad serves me salmon and vegetables, he also takes the same as me. I can’t remember the last time Dad served me food. If there’s one thing I can’t lie about, it’s my father. The Wizard King looks at our interaction while chewing a piece of meat. There is no judgment in his eyes, it's reassuring. I serve myself in bread and cheese and I put everything on my plate.  
  
"There are things that do not change, it seems!" Dad, after a bite of salmon. " You always put everything you’re going to eat on your plate and you don’t serve yourself more!"

"Except for one thing: my plates are a lot heavier now!" I answer him, my food stuck in a cheek and a towel in front of my mouth. And I remember that I am not alone and that I am in a castle. My "hamster" mode is really not noble. I choke on my food supply. I drink all the rest of my glass, red by asphyxiation and shame.

_Dig me a hole somewhere and I’ll bury myself._

_  
_"Oh shit... Oh damn! Sorry, I’m confused, I’m really sorry to make such a spectacle in front of you, sir!"

"Call me Julius, and don’t worry, I suspect that, coming from another world, your attitude is not the same as ours!" He answers me nicely, with his hands crossed and his head placed on top. "Moreover, your naturalness is refreshing, as José had told me!"

"And again, she’s not comfortable." Teases my beloved father. The red goes up to my cheeks.

_You could have avoided that kind of remark..._

_  
_  
Once our plates are empty, we go to dessert. A beautiful strawberry shortcake with whipped cream and three floors. Fortunately, my metabolism is on top because I would gain weight just by looking at it. Julius – just thinking his name makes me uncomfortable, my upbringing would have pushed me to continue to call him 'sir' – serves Dad and me a piece of this pastry jewelry and attacks his own part while giggling.

_Do you have a sweet tooth?_

_  
_  
I understand his infatuation by eating one piece. Then another. Yet another. And I finish my part faster than these gentlemen, somewhat surprised at my appetite. It was an explosion of flavors, strawberries with an incomparable fragrance, sweet and tangy to perfection, all covered by the sweet and light whipped cream. Spongy cake and just as light. Pure happiness.

I spread out a little on my chair, stretching my legs and caressing my full belly. I unwittingly drop a satisfied sigh. Now that my stomach is busy doing its job, I can fully devote myself to discovering this world.

"If I understood correctly, I am in the Clover Kingdom, is that it?" I say, creating a more serious atmosphere.  
  
"That’s right. The current king is King Augustus Clover Kira XIII, the Kira family is one of the three royal families living here. There is also the Silva and Vermillion family," explains Julius.

"What is the difference between the King and the Wizard King? Wizard king seems more important than King." This shade intrigues me.

"The Magic King is useful compared to the King." Say Papa, with some bitterness in his voice. _  
_

Julius shrugs, a little smile on the corner of his mouth.  
  


"As your father points out, our king is somewhat... special." He breathes a sigh. " The Wizard King commands the Magic Knights, the kingdom's defenders. The Magic Knights were divided into eight companies, each company itself headed by a captain and vice-captain. He also manages the internal affairs of the kingdom: politics, money, festivities and so on."  
  
I assimilate the information while stroking my temple. No matter the world, there are recurring points.

"If I understand correctly, the Clover Kingdom is a bit like the United Kingdom on Earth, your King is the equivalent of our Queen Elizabeth, they serve as an "image" while the Prime Minister or Wiard King takes care of everything. What a mess! Apart from that, is there a caste system or all the inhabitants are equal?"  
  
I think I touched on a sensitive subject when Julius' eyes darkened. He leans on his chair, a long sigh escaping from his lips.

"Unfortunately there is a caste system more than unfair to my liking. We are in the Noble Realm, far away are the Common Realm and deep in the realm, the Forsaken Realm. I don’t know how it is in your world, but here the Nobles have a very powerful Mana, so they think they can do whatever they want and have the right to despise those who aren't noble."  
  
"And Julius is working hard to change these 'middle-age' mentalities," continues Papa, visibly proud.

"No matter what the world, the nobles are almost all big assholes it seems." I let go, bitter. "I hate injustice, it repels me. And I learn that I'm in a world of injustice! _Με εκπλήσσει ότι η ανθρωπότητα θα χαθεί, γιατί προσπαθώ να τη σώσω ?  
_ _(No wonder that humanity is losing itself, why am I struggling to save it?)  
_  
"Because, in spite of everything, there are so many people who are worth it, so many things to discover and others to create?" Julius replied, with his head slightly tilted.

I should have known by his last name that my Greek mode would not provide me with protection in case of breakdown. Wait... Novachrono, he told me? Does he have anything to do with...?

My reflexion is interrupted by Julius, who leaned suddenly on the table, leaning towards me, his eyes sparkling.

"More important! What's your magic? Is there magic in your world? Do you have a grimoire? I would love to see your magic so much!" The excitement is palpable in his voice.

_Alert! Alert! Alert! Hyper sensitive subject approaching!_

_  
  
_"Euuuuuuuuhhhhh....."

The gods are with me it seems, a young man with blue helmet cuts Julius in his swing when arriving on the terrace, red like a dipped-beam headlamp.

Not a helmet. It’s his hair! A bowl cut that structured, too, shouldn’t be legal.  
  
"Sir Julius! You were there! I’ve been looking for you for two hours, what takes you so long?"

"Ah, Marx, hello!" Simply makes the interested, obviously little concerned. "I greeted our new citizen of Clover, this is Yuki! It is José’s daughter!" He explains by showing me to the named Marx.

I’m waving my hand as a salute. Marx stiffened himself before me, always peony red and his hand on his heart, to greet me.

"I’m sorry for this uncivilized entrance, Miss Bellafotia! I’ve heard a lot about you, I’m happy to meet you! I am Marx Francois, the Wizard King's secretary and advisor"

"Nice to meet you too!"

_Bellafotia? You’ll have to explain that to me later, Papa._

_  
_  
"Sir Julius! You have a lot of work to do and I won’t help you anymore! I have already taken care of King Augustus and it's worse than death penalty!" Marx rebels, visibly on the edge of mental breakdown

"Marx, if you need an anti-stress, don’t hesitate to come see me before it’s too late!" Propose my father, concerned for the welfare of the young man.

"Sir José, if you have something to make Sir Julius work, it would be much more useful to me!"

Julius laughs nervously before getting up, yielding the victory to his advisor.  
  
"Sorry to leave you in the middle of the conversation but duty calls me. I hope to get to know you better, Yuki! I haven’t seen your magic yet!" he says with a radiant smile.

And on this sentence, he leaves the terrace, followed by Marx. I turn my gaze to the beautiful blue sky, thoughtful.

"In what world did I fall? And for what purpose?"

_I fell into a world where angels exist._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used a translator for the arabic and greek sentences. Sorry if it's not accurate!


	4. Countdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki spends the rest of her day with her father. She takes the opportunity to debrief on the situation. But a disruptive element comes into play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING:  
> I'm added MY version of religions in Earth, it's part of Yuki's original story so please don't be offended if you are a religious reader. It will help me a lot not to receive mean comments about this.  
> Thank you! <3

After lunch, I accompanied my father to the infirmary, the place where he works. He introduced me to Owen, his colleague and a healer serving directly under Julius. Apparently, Papa was a healer. During his "resurrection", he arrived in the same way as me, through a portal. And he found himself face to face with Julius, who was fleeing his work as Wizard King in favor of the discovery of new magic.  
On Earth, my father was a magnetizer healer. It was not like the magic of here, he treated without special effects but his talents were indisputable. Here, it seems that it's the lack of magic that's abnormal. So he developed his healing powers to its peak by obtaining his Grimoire and he was able to become a healer at Castle Town with the approval of Julius. He is, with Owen, one of the greatest healers in the Clover Kingdom.

What makes me happy because it was – it is – his vocation.  
Fortunately, Dad didn’t have too many patients to treat, so we were able to find ourselves some free time and face to face – always in the infirmary – to discuss my presence in this world.

He told me then that he had been warned of my imminent arrival, I don't know how, by Aether. This man had definitely planned everything.  
What surprised me most was that he knew I was no longer a normal human. Upon his death on Earth, when he passed through Hell, he was informed of my true nature.

When I speak of the Underworld, I speak of the Greek Underworld part of Hell, divided into three regions: Erebus, Elysium and Tartarus. Fortunately, my father had been sent to the Elysium.

  
There, Hermes told him that I was yet another reincarnation of a bastard goddess, from Poseidon – from the Greek pantheon – and from Isis – from the Egyptian pantheon – a hell of a mess to make short.

 _  
Lucky guy, he knew five years in earlier that my life was going to get chaotic_ _._

I was the only godess with a human soul in this world, any pantheon combined. It's moreover as a result of these revelations that when he arrived in Clover, he chose to call himself Bellafotia, in relation to his former surname, and Fotia for Fire. A nice Greek-Roman mixture, which can give either Beautiful Fire or Warfire depending on the Latin version of Bellum.  
If you thought there was only one god, you would be very wrong. So yes, there is indeed a Creator, whom monotheistic religions commonly call "God", but let us say that "pagan" deities from ancient religions still exist, hidden in different layers from reality imperceptible by the humankind.  
Each pantheon manages its countries in harmony with the other pantheons. And each pantheon has its share of good and bad divinities.

It is moreover because of a malevolent divinity that my soul is reincarnated more or less tirelessly for some ten thousand years. Many of my "memories" are sealed within my soul for my own safety and sanity, but there will be a day when the curtain will fall.  
Back to what my father knew.

He knew that I was a goddess with a human soul, the only one with that specificity, and that the Titan Chronos had been trying to get hold of me for ten thousand years.

Yes, my divine grandpa wants to impregnate me for so long to have a powerful heir and rule the world. It really is a cliché scenario, in my opinion. Gods are cliché, it seems that immortality doesn't help in questioning.  
Fortunately, my previous incarnations preferred death to forced motherhood.

Yes, Grandpa Chronos may be the Time Titan, but he was never patient. At each incarnation, at my twenty-five years, he came with his little soldiers and his big clogs to impose on me an eternal ultimatum: the child or death. And since every time I said no, it ended in war.  
That’s why I’m here, in this world. I refused a first time, but I didn’t die. Aether sent me to Clover to protect me.

Except now I had the impression that there was more than a protection story.

 _  
  
__Novachrono._

 _  
_ _  
_Was it a coincidence? Out of uncertainty, I discussed it with my father. I asked him if he knew a possible link between Chronos and Julius and I saw him mortifying himself on the spot. He could only tell me "There is a connection, but I can assure you that Julius is the opposite of Chronos."  
  
Novachrono, or "New Times". If Chronos were to learn of Julius’s existence – if it has not already been done – he would try by all means to reach this world, and kill two birds with one stone: submit or kill me, and capture or kill the Wizard King, in addition to destroying a new world.  
Papa had also taught me that the Underworld, common to all pantheons and worlds in general, was accessible via the famous Underworld gates, hidden everywhere on this planet. However, if we could access it,it would not allow us to go to Earth through the other portals within it. _  
_

 _  
__So I could see James or Eros in the Underworld, but I can't return to Earth and they can't go to Clover._

This news was somewhat reassuring. Apparently, it was Aether's work, who had sealed the dimensions so that Grandpa Titan wouldn't come and destroy it right away. This Primordial God was extremely careful. So I could focus on my training and increase my powers.  
And then the trouble started.

At the end of the afternoon, after debriefing for a good two hours, Papa accompanied me to the infirmary yard to test my powers. The passage between these two worlds would have the effect of disrupting the use of a person’s powers, according to him. A human without powers could end up with a powerful mana, a human with abilities would see his talents increased tenfold, what would be the effects for a human goddess?  
My answer was quick to arrive as I tried to concentrate my flames in my palms. The energy hardly flowed into my body, like a stream overloaded with tree trunks blocking against huge rocks. And when I came to materialize these flames, they burned my skin. My fear took over when one of my flames inscribed a number inside my left wrist, above my crucifix tattoo. _  
_

 _  
__180._

 _  
  
_My father and I had little idea what that number could mean. A potential countdown, but what was it counting, exactly? And what would happen at the end of that countdown? What are the conditions for the mark to change? New questions were added to my endless list.  
After putting a bandage on my wrist, to heal me and hide this... Drawback, Dad took a broom to take us to his home. A broom! As in Bewitched! And we can be together on it! Since my transformation, I no longer had the vertigo and the feeling of flying had become my favorite, the journey by broom was exhilarating.We crossed almost all the Noble territory and on the edge, to the north, was a one-storey house, made of stone. When I saw it, I immediately realized that it was my father’s house. It was slightly isolated from the other houses, with a large garden behind, but not enough isolated as the road was paved and maintained. Dad landed us on the ground, and the moment my foot touched the ground, my vision turned black. I heard my father call me by my real name, before I collapsed again.  
  
That’s how my day went. And now I’m in my new room at my father’s, staring at the void, sitting at the edge of the bed. I mechanically caress my wrists freshly engraved, anxious. It's in those moments that I would like to be able to talk to my mother. _  
_

_If I can get back to Earth, she’ll kill me for sure._

Still a little groggy with my discomfort, I leave my lethargy to finally observe my new environment. I realize that Dad tried to recreate my old teenage bedroom in the same way, with the double bed stuck long against the wall, at the corner of the bedroom. He even recreated the particular design of the sofa bed, with the black wooden back. There is also a desk by the window, facing me, and by some miracle there is a copy of my electronic equipment, that is to say my beautiful gaming computer. He has to explain to me how he made a modern home in a world out of a heroic-fantasy book. I see my mobile phone on the desk, the only modern object I took with me when I plunged into the wormhole.  
I get up, take the phone, go back to the bed and unlock the phone. I go to the "messages" section and click on the ones sent to my mother. I don’t know if it’s helpful, or if it’s going to work, but I need it. I need to tell my mom I’m alive. That I didn't abandon her. That I'm still her daughter, her child to whom she gave life twenty-five years earlier. _  
_

_  
__"Mom,_

_I know that since my car accident, everything has changed for me. For us. That you care even more about my life since I found myself with this thousand-year-old burden. That you blame yourself and think it's your fault. And that you think it's your fault that I'm no longer among you._

_But I’m alive, Mom. In another world, but alive. And, incredible as it may seem, I’m with Dad. Dad is alive in this other world! It’s hard to explain, but I want you to know that I’m not alone. I’ll come back, no matter what._

_I love you, Mom."_

_  
  
_And I send the message. I don’t know if she will receive it, I don’t even know if it’s possible to communicate like that between two different worlds. My heart squeezes painfully, the tears burning down my cheeks without even realizing it. Dad, having surely heard me, enters the room and sees me in distress, sits on the bed and takes me in his arms to comfort me. I don’t know how long it took, but I fell asleep again, that frail sense of security that I found after so many years. _  
_

* * *

_I float in the air, everything is bright around me. There is neither up, nor down, nor left, nor right. There is no direction. It’s not hot or cold._

_I understand then that I dream. Not a simple dream, but a vision. I am there without being there. My body is in its bed, my astral body is here. I rotate on myself, the same feeling as when you are immersed in water. Except that I can breathe. A teleportation sound catches my attention, I turn to the sound and find my Guardian. Aether. I smile, happy and relieved to see him again in this place out of time and space._

_He still has his black cape around him, his hood embedded on his head and his famous silver mask. I can’t remember how long he and I have been in contact, but I’m always relieved to see him._

_He’s waving at me as a greeting.  
  
"Hard day?" He breaks the silence._

_"I would still have been a human without powers, I would have had a heart attack dozens of times." I replied, ironically._

_His metallic laughter resounds in the void.  
  
"How are things on Earth?" I ask him, more than worried._

_He lazily floats on his back, reflecting on his response through a long "hm".  
  
"Chronos is temporarily contained and James and Damien are safe and sound despite the slaps from your mother, who by the way is furious with us." calmly announces me. _

_"Any more questions, princess?"_

_"You know very well that yes. First, is it possible that I contact James or Eros myself?" A little help from allied gods would not be refused.  
Still floating like an inverted turtle, with his arms folded behind his head, he answered "Yes, but it will require some preparations. I will explain in due time. Your priority is to strengthen yourself mentally as well as physically."_

_"For that, you’re gonna have to explain to me what this is."_

_I show him my left wrist. He straightens instantly, floats towards me, gently grabs my wrist and looks at it.  
A long gutural sigh escapes from my Guardian._

_"Aether... please. tell me what that number is."_

_He strokes with his thumb the number engraved in my flesh. The pressure of his hand around my wrist becomes stronger, without being painful._

_"Aether?"_   
  
_He releases me and moves slightly away from me._

_"This number... is the number of days you have left before your body breaks down. Your body is human, it was never designed to harbour goddess powers, and the passage from Earth to Clover has unfortunately accelerated the process. Your powers have become unstable, and a grimoire is necessary for the use of magic in this world. Even with a grimoire, in 180 days you will die."_


	5. Buns and Poker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki has the day for herself and decides to take a walk to discover Clover, especially Kikka.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, smoking is bad, but I can't help it.

Despite my vision of this night, I slept surprisingly well. I woke up with the daylight. My bed is too much comfortable for my own good, I mustn't bring my marmot genes back and go back to hibernate in my duvet cave.

I pat around with one hand, looking for my phone. I finally find it, at my feet and I look at the time.

_10H12_

My eyes spread out like saucers and I jump out of bed to go down to the living room, looking for my father. The only sound that resonates is my footsteps on the floor squeaking under my weight. I arrive in the living room and apart from the furniture, there is no soul alive. I go to the open kitchen in the living room and on the pastime I find pastries, orange juice and a letter. While eating a croissant, I take the paper, unfold it and read it.  
 _  
_ _"Cariña,_

_I went to work._

_If you need anything, I put on your phone my number, our cell phones were tinkered up to work even here._

_Don’t hesitate to wander around and get your bearings._

_I left you a Yuls purse, the local currency, on the coffee table in the living room._

_Have a good day!_

_Dad"_

_  
_I finish my croissant by bringing it down with orange juice, placing the letter where I found it. I take a look at the living room and, indeed, there is a purse that looks very full. Well, I have the day for myself, so I might as well enjoy it.

I’m gonna go upstairs and look for the bathroom. It’s right next to my room, and in front of mine is my father’s room. I enter the bathroom and I'm delighted to see that it also looks almost identical to our old bathroom. All in length, with the tub at the bottom making the width of the room (about 6ft), the toilet at the entrance and the sink in front, slightly offset. The wall towel rack by the bathtub, in short, I’m not out of my way. I would much rather have a human-sized bathroom than the one at the Castle, luxury being my own. I’m getting rid of the clothes I slept in the night before and taking a quick shower.  
Once I put the robe on, I go back to my room and search my wardrobe. I pull out a khaki cargo pants, a black tank top, underwears – Dad really planned everything – and brown shoes. Today, I’m in "I don’t care about my look, I just want to be comfortable" mode. I dress and then I look at my wrist. _  
  
_ _179  
  
_ I can’t leave that number in plain view. I go through the drawers of my wardrobe again and find a black sponge cuff, just what I need. I adjust it correctly, it will become my inseparable companion. I detangle my hair, I would let the wind dry them naturally.

I go down to the living room to get Yuls purse, which I slip into one of my trouser pockets, the other already occupied by my phone. I go out to the exit, I grab the house keys and I go out, determined to visit this world.

_Home? Locked. Keys? Check. Phone? Check. Money? Check.  
  
  
_ My old human habits are hard, but somewhere, it reassures me. Prudence is mother of safety. Today, the weather is magnificent, some cumulus crosses the sky. What if I let the breeze guide me?

* * *

After half an hour of walking, it seems that I arrived at a town called Kikka. The streets are crowded, it is a very lively city. Normally, I would have fled the crowd like the plague, except that I am in a world where the over-population does not have the same definition as mine.

There are many merchants, children run around the streets laughing, mothers finish shopping before returning home to prepare lunch.

  
The local architecture is curious, one could compare it to the Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. At the same time as I walk, I admire everything that surrounds me with amazed eyes. This world is not so bad! I take some pictures with my cell phone, but discreetly not to alert passers by my anachronism.

I pass a merchant selling freshly cooked food and my stomach starts to protest. I stop there, salivating.  
"Hello! What are your buns stuffed with sir?" I ask the merchant, cheerful.

The merchant, in his forties, answers me with the same passion. "They are stuffed with beef and vegetables, pretty lady! Do you want to taste them? They just came out of the oven!"

I admire them and, given the size – and my appetites – I ask for three. The merchant, delighted, puts them in a small paper bag. He tells me the price and not knowing the monetary value of the Yul, I ask him a little course. After that, I hand him the coins to pay for my buns, thank him and greet him. I’m walking again, bag in my arms and a bun in my hand. One more little picture, as a souvenir for my family. I’m crunching in it and I’m thrilled. It’s not just any bun. It’s a curry bun! The flavors burst in my mouth, the beef is juicy and soft, the vegetables are perfectly cooked, in short, my culinary world tour isn't done on Earth.  
  
I don’t know why but my attention is drawn to a busty woman, not far away from me, with long pink hair and dressed in a sexy red dress. She is wearing a witch hat, and has a black cape on her shoulders. She goes into a dark alley, and for some reason, I follow her.

_If I get arrested for stalking a woman, my dad won’t let me out again.  
  
_ A dead end. And empty. I finish my bun, perplexed. A strange smell emanates from the wall. Magic! I extend my right hand to touch the wall that is suspicious to me and I fail to startle seeing my hand cross without resistance. The excitement rises in me, finally an MMORPG adventure as I love them! And in real life! I rush into the wall as if I as heading towards Hogwarts on platform 9 3/4, the magic enveloping me like a fresh screen. The time my eyes adapt to the brightness and I discover the new place.  
I am in an alley lit only by the merchants's lamps, and it is much less well maintained than the main street. The merchants are hooded and discreet. There are street merchants on the ground. I’m walking again, I don’t want to be noticed either. My powers are going crazy, I don’t have this famous grimoire and being in full digestion, I don’t want to fight right away. Besides, I’m gonna eat this second delicious bun. I look at the windows from the outside, there are all kinds of objects that look magical. Bracelets, jewelry of all kinds, artifacts. There are even magic brooms!

_It’s crazy. Why wasn’t I born in this world?  
  
  
_ I'm drawn from my reverie by an elderly voice, I turn around and discover my interlocutor. A little old woman sitting in the recess of the wall, in front of a card game table. She too is hooded.

"Hello young lady! A little poker, is it tempting?" She said in a nice tone.

My fingers are greasy because of the buns, I still have my mouth full of my last piece of bun. I swallow everything round before answering her.  
"I’m really not good at cards and even less at poker, I would be a very bad game partner, you know..." I said to her wiping my hand with one of the handkerchiefs I have in my pocket. " Then I don’t think my father appreciates that I play with his money." I add, laughing heartily. The little granny looks at me a few seconds before laughing in turn. " Let’s see, since you look new around here, we only have to play for fun!" She takes over, showing me the place in front of her. I have always had the sympathy of grandmothers, so I yield to her invitation. I sit on the stool, carefully placing my bag next to me. The strange granny giggles.  
"Is your wrist sore, Miss?" She asks, showing my left wrist with a nod. I mechanically readjust my cuff. " Oh, that... I fell while I was on the broom, I hit it hard." I explain, not proud of my little lie. She looks at me suspiciously, then grabs her cards deck.

_What a strange grandmother. Are they all like that?  
  
_  
The grandmother mixes the cards,whistling a cheerful tune and, once satisfied with her mix, distributes five cards each. We’re starting to play. I look at my hand while remaining as neutral as possible, I exchange two cards and unwittingly, a shiver crosses my spine.

_A four aces? Just that?_

The little squeaking that I made didn't go unnoticed, the grandmother gives me a smile of contentment. She unveils her cards, I do the same.

"Oh, well done!" she congratulates me, delighted. "Another little game? Still for fun?"

She is making eyes. I hate that. I always get fooled by the grannies who are making eyes to me.  
I shake my shoulders in defeat. "You're fortunate because I’m a fan of little grannies." I say to her in a humor tone. She giggles, obviously thrilled to play.

We continued to play for a good half hour, alternating wins and defeats – more wins for me than defeats – until a hand landed on my shoulder. I startle and turn, the witch I was following being the owner of this hand.

"You are the young woman who almost died in front of our Den! I am delighted to see you in good health!" She makes me with a big smile. Her smile fades a little by watching the grandmother. "I hope you didn’t lose all your money with that old lady!" Take it back, concerned.  
She seems nice. Wait. Was she talking about me? The woman almost dead in front of her Den? But what den? The Ikea building?

_  
All in good time. First, Grandma. I have to clear up the misunderstanding._

"In fact, this nice lady offered me to play for fun, and I told her I didn’t really know how to play. So I haven’t lost a single Yul!" I explain to the witch. She sighs, relieved, then I get up, stretching myself along. I turn to the grandmother.  
"Thank you so much for these games, I hope to have the opportunity to play with you again but with bets!" I send him my most radiant smile, sincerely delighted. I get my bag, thoughtfully, then I hand it to her. "Here, for the good time! I hope you like curry buns! It’s still hot!"

The grandmother is about to grumble but I don't give her time to answer, putting the bag directly on the table. I say goodbye with a wave of my hand, and I leave with my new acquaintance.

  
We leave this strange place by the dead end and the young woman turns to me.

"I didn’t introduce myself! My name is Vanessa Enoteca, I'm a Black Bull! You scared me to death the other day!" She reaches out to me to greet me. I shake her hand, introducing myself.

"My name is Yuki! Also delighted! The Black Bull... It's a Magic Knight squad?"

I certainly shocked Vanessa by my lack of knowledge because her eyes were wide apart in two seconds, and then she explodes laughing. His voice is crystal clear.

"You’re not from here, aren't ya?" I scratch my neck, shy. "I didn’t think it would be that obvious," I confess, defeated. " What were you doing at the Black Market? Were you lost?" she asks, curious.  
  
 _  
_ _The Black Market? That explains a lot of things... The atmosphere, the discreet merchants, the funny grandma..._

"Well, well, uh... I have my solo day, I wanted to explore Clover a little, so I let myself be carried and I ended up here" I explain, without revealing that I was actually following her without really knowing why. " Then Grandma harpooned me to play with her, and the rest is known!"

"I understand better! But frankly, when I recognized you, I was scared when I saw you with that grandmother, normally those who play with her end up stripped of their money." explains Vanessa. "Oh! It tells you to come with me to the Den? I’m sure the others would love to see you whole, and then we could have a drink together!"  
  
The discomfort invades me. The idea is tempting, but making connections in my condition, whether by the countdown on my wrist or even with Chronos as a Sword of Damocles, seems to me more than difficult. Vanessa noticed my discomfort and recovered. "Unless you have other things to do? I don’t want to force you!" Oh no, I hurt her.

"It’s not that... It’s that... I can’t spot myself, I came on foot and I don’t want to bother." I mechanically crush a strand of my hair. Vanessa lights up again.  
"If that’s all, Finral can bring you back! He wields Spacial magic, a portal and poof! You’ll be back in no time! And you will not manage us, moreover, a new female presence will do good to our Den! It’s decided, you come!" Vanessa grabs me by the arm and takes me God knows where.

* * *

We travelled by broom to the Den, which is located in the forest of the Common Realm. The strange building is even more impressive by day – and in good health to see it – it’s really a kit mansion. Vanessa lands, we go down and she guides me to the double entrance door made of solid wood.  
"Ah, don’t be surprised if it’s hectic around here, that’s the norm!" she warns me with a grin. From scratch, I answer with irony "Nothing surprises me anymore, I lived with a lot of crazy! It’s the calm that scares me."

The Witch Laughs "Not only are you hot, but you have a sense of humor! I love it!"

_We’ll stay on those three qualities for my cover. The less you know, the better.  
  
  
_ Vanessa opens the door and instinctively, I dodge a lost fireball from a head movement that heads right at us. What a warm welcome! The owner of this magic holds a flaming baseball bat and continues to charge another guy who looks just as crazy and wields electricity.

I almost feel at home, it reminds me of all the times I used to fight with James. We enter the main room, Vanessa uses her magic to calm the two merry lurons. Her magic is impressive, she handles threads almost invisible to the eye like a professional puppeteer.  
  
"Calm down, children! You almost finished our new friend!" she told the two young men, hanging above the ground like puppets. I cross my arms and say, "If I die because of a little fireball, it means I was already dying."

"A little fireball?" the baseballer rebelled, upset. "I was in no shape! I was just warming up!" The other youngster, next to him, laughs before throwing in his teeth "Magna is not fast or precise enough to touch me, we all know it!" " Shut up, Luck!" insults the man named Magna.  
The noise stops as soon as a dark and terribly oppressive mana arrives. Vanessa drops her two friends and returns to my side.

"Ah, the captain is upset!" she told me, not worried about a penny.

A man, I would say in his 30s, comes forward, threatening, near the two guys. He’s huge, from my point of view. Matte skin, badly shaved, brown with fluffy hair, a cigarette hanging out in his mouth – lucky me – a white tank top and brown wide cargo pants, boots of the same color. Pleasant to look at, however. He grabs both by the collar and gratifies them with a frigid look mixed with a powerful grunt.  
"Can’t we shit in peace here? What the fuck is this, you bastards?"

Luck, the little blond with blue eyes, gigotte like a schoolgirl in love. "You want to fight with me, Yami?"

"I want you to leave me alone while I take a dump!" Yami said to him, excised.

"Captain let me down to finish Luck!" Implore Magna, the funny haircut baseballer. He looks like a punk, with his black and white hair and his junior biker look.

_It’s a crazy house here, I love it.  
  
  
_ It is Vanessa who saves her friends, by bringing Yami’s attention back on us.

"Capitaaaaaaine! Look who I bring back! Tadaaaa!" And she points to me all along with her hands. I admit that at the time, the only thing that interests me is the cigarette that Yami smokes. I know, it’s wrong, smoking kills but I'm already dead and my last cigarette was three days ago, before my fight against Chronos. Yami approaches me, always threatening and gauges me with his eyes.

"Glad to see you didn’t croak, chick." He finally said, smiling at the lips.

"I’m not the kind of girl to kick the bucket for a hole in the gut," I say, wearing the same smile.

"I found Yuki playing with the little old lady at the Black Market, I thought I’d bring her back to spend some girl time!" Explains Vanessa, charming.

Yami seems surprised for a moment then, finishing his cigarette, beckons me to sit on the couch.

"You’re gonna have to explain to me why you were on the verge of death in front of my house."

_Oh oh._

Do I really need to get to that point now? Well, I understand that it’s not every day that a stranger almost dies in front of your house. I can very well sweeten the story, omit some details...

I sigh, sit on the couch. I am joined by Vanessa who mysteriously put herself in her underwear, a bottle in her hand.

_Oh, that’s a good idea._

I giggle.  
  
"It’s a little long to explain and it’s a hell of a story to listen to and tell over a drink and a cigarette." I say to Yami, fingers crossed ,hoping that he understands my tobacco request. To my great surprise, he burst out laughing and handed me the long-awaited Holy Cigarette, which I take with great gratitude.

"I like you!" he said to me, always laughing. Vanessa hugs me while giggling "I like you too! You like to drink! We’ll get along!" And she pours me a drink.

A little brown haired girl with a bun and white dress, combined with leggings and ballerinas, comes to me. Wait. She's not common, that little girl. I’m scanning her mana and laughing inside.  
  
  
 _A half-dwarf girl. Will I see elves and orcs?_

"Hi! I’m Charmy! Do you like to eat, la?" she introduces herself, with a cute voice that reminds me of the Chipmunks.

"My life passes through food, if that is your question!" I answer her with a big smile. She jumps on the spot, delighted with my answer.

Yami is getting impatient. "Oï Charmy, the cripple was going to tell us why she was dying! Wait before offering her food!"

I light my cigarette with a small flame that I invoke at my index finger. A flame of this magnitude is not likely to cause me more damage. I shoot on it, the tobacco invading my lungs. I drop a sigh of contentment after sliding it all down with a sip of wine.

"In fact, I was fighting against a very powerful enemy, the most powerful I met. I was with allies, the fight was going badly. In order to save me, they sent me to this continent through a portal. The thing is, this enemy had time to gut me before I went through that portal. I ended up in the forest, I walked for a while, and then I came here." I shoot the cigarette again. Yami is watching me for a moment, probably to test the veracity of my remarks.  
  
"You fought without Grimoire?" he points skillfully.

"Where I come from, you don’t need a Grimoire to use magic. But I’ll have to get one quickly." It’s a fact, if I want to fight effectively and welcome Chronos without being a dead weight, I need one.

"When you have one, why not become a Magic Knight? Considering your frightening mana, you will find yourself a compagny" Yami tells me quietly.

Become a Magic Knight? Of course it would be a great way to ensure that Grandpa does not become neurotic in this world. I could very well kick his ass and get paid without arousing suspicion, at least for the next three months, if all goes well.

I’m scratching my head, thinking about his idea.  
  
"Don't you have to be a citizen of this Kingdom to become a Magic Knight?" After all, I'm not from this world.

Yami bursts again with laughter.

_I swear, the day I get a Grimoire, I’ll friendly kick your ass ._

_I can feel my frontal vein swelling._

_"You’re José Bellafotia’s daughter, aren’t you? You already have citizenship. He took care of everything with old Julius."_

_Old?! Dude? Did you put anything other than tobacco in your cigarettes? Or are you short-sighted like a mole?_

I must admit that I am surprised to have citizenship as easily as that. Becoming a Magic Knight seems to be at hand. I finish my cigarette and crush it in the ashtray in front of me, on the coffee table.  
"What do I have to do to become a Knight? Is there a test to pass?"

"Yeah, and it happens in a week. You better have your Grimoire by then." Yami threatens me.

Vanessa, already drunk, puts her head on my shoulder.

"I hope that you will come to see us once you have become a Mage-Knight! Or join us! We will have fun together!" She tells me in a hiccup.

I finish my drink all at once, put it a little violently on the table in my swing. I get up, having put Vanessa against the back of the couch.

"Well, it’s decided, I’ll blow your mind in a week!"

Yami gives me a big smile. I look out the window, it’s getting late and I still have to go home.  
"The company is nice but I still have to go to my father's and I have no fucking idea where I am!" I sigh.

"FINRAL!!!" Shout Yami, his voice carrying most certainly throughout the den.

The man named Finral, a young man with brown hair, arrives quietly towards Yami. His eyes begin to shine when seeing me. He runs up to me, takes my hands and pulls out his most touching seduction game I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t work, but I salute the effort.

"Finral, is that it? I’m Yuki. Delighted!" I give him a beautiful smile, it will make him happy.  
  
And he is, by the look of his head. It looks like Eros shot him in the heart.

"Stop flirting with the lady and open a gate to José's." Orders Yami in a dry and unappealing tone.

Finral stands at attention and leaves the Den. I follow him, greeting my new acquaintances and thanking them for the drink and the cigarette. Finral takes out his grimoire and invokes an oval-shaped portal.

"I hope that we will have the opportunity to see each other again!" he told me, falsely seducing. I smile and go through the gate.  
  
And I find myself in front of my father’s house. Teleportation is so convenient. I can’t wait to find my magic again.

The front door’s unlocked, Dad’s probably back from work. I put my keys on the tablet at the entrance and head to the living room, guided by the male voices coming out.

_Was Dad expecting people?_

I make a jump on the spot discovering the visitor. Julius! Dad beckons me, sitting in one of the armchairs, Julius sitting in the sofa. They’re having a nice drink. I’m going to have another one while I’m at it. I feel like I’m going to need it a lot.

* * *

[Yuki's Outfit](https://imgur.com/a/OKHWJ7f)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll post Chapter 6 Wednesday ! Thank you for your support and patience!  
> Chapter 6: Grimoire


	6. Grimoire and Reminiscences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki announces to her father the meaning of her mark. Julius offers to accompany her to find her Grimoire.

As I head to the kitchen to find a slightly stronger alcoholic beverage, my father wrinkles when I pass by him. He sniffs once, then a second time, definitely detecting the smell of cooled tobacco. I get stiff, act like nothing, always looking for a strong liquor in the lower closets. I find a bottle of white rum and a lime in the fridge – even Papa’s kitchen is modern and I still haven’t had an explanation for it – and I’m nervously preparing a glass of punch. Their discussion does not reach my ears, I am much too focused in my task, it also helps me to avoid my father’s suspicion. If he knew that on Earth I had started smoking after his death – and not only tobacco – he would make me hang high and short as he himself had stopped smoking in the first place for my health. I crush a quarter of lemon in a big glass, I add a little sugar and a good dose of rum. I mix the cocktail a little and go back to the living room to sit on the last free chair, opposite Dad.

He slaps his tongue under Julius’s laughing gaze and move on to the subject.  
"Just by the smell I know you went to the Black Bull Den. The question is, did Yami sprinkle you with smoke or did you smoke?" I calmly drink a sip of my punch, the liquid burning pleasantly my throat. " I pleaded guilty, I traded a cigarette and a glass of wine for an explanation of why I found myself half dead in front of his house." Dad shakes his head, he must wonder how his daughter so wise ended up so. Julius laughs gently. " Yami can be scary sometimes, I understand you needed a pick-me-up to face him!"  
I sweep his doubts with my left hand, the right hand busy holding the glass.  
"Oh, it’s mostly because I didn’t want to tell this story, I just bargained with him. Also, he’s not that scary, he gave me good advice." I think I caught the attention of both men.  
I keep going. " Let’s just say that after he told my story, he suggested I take the Magic Knight selection test. But I have to get a Grimoire before next week."  
Julius' eyes start sparkling like stars. " Ooooh! It is true that you don't have a Grimoire! I can arrange that! We could go together, with your father of course, to the Grimoire Tower! The Grimoires ceremony is normally done in March but I know the Master, he will let you have one without any problem! I’m sure yours will be very interesting!" I drink a new sip as a response, a little evasive smile on the corner.  
 _  
_

_For as long as this book will last..._

"When do you think you could go to the Tower?" asks my father to Julius.

_What do you mean? You’re leaving me?_

I give a sharp look to my father, discreet enough to go unnoticed by our guest. He smiles innocently.

"Hmm... The day after tomorrow, I would find a way to escape Marx." Reflects Julius while caressing his chin, thoughtful. His attention turns to me. "After you get your Grimoire, can you show me your magic? Please?" He’s just stumbling over this.  
I drink another sip of my glass, nodding gently to tell him I accept. I start to regret my alcohol choice, my stomach emptied between noon and now. I start to relax, slightly drunk. Is it hot, or is it just me?

"Can’t you be there for my Grimoire shed?" I say to Papa, pretending to sulk.

"Unfortunately not, Julius has just given me a mission and I will have to leave for a few days. Nothing dangerous, but it remains important." He explains to me, as evasive as my own explanations. _  
  
_

_Like father, like daughter._

I clench my engraved wrist. I confess that I'm sad not to see him, even for a few days. Dad interrupts my thoughts.

"Did your day go well apart from that?" My good mood returns, carried by alcohol.

"Oh! All right! I went to Kikka, it’s beautiful! I thought I was in Harry Potter! I bought three curry buns, I ate two, the third I gave it to a cute little granny I ran into at the Black Market! She offered me to play with her at Poker, I felt bad because I am a real buzzard at card games. But it was fun! I hope to improve in the meantime to play well with her if I go back to the Market!"  
The two men look at each other and laugh together. I said something funny? Or is the Black Market illegal and I’m going to jail?

"The Black Market is the perfect place to discover new magic!" Julius told me, wiping a tear near his eye.

"Grandma must have been thrilled to have had this bun," continues my father, who got up to get another beer. He proposes to Julius to refill it, who gladly accepts the second round of the aperitif.  
"I hope so, these buns were succulent !" I said, my stomach rumbling, also remembering these dishes. " I don’t want to sound insulting or anything, but how is it that Wizard King is doing happy hour with my father? You look like two old friends! I understand that you saved us both but from there to have a drink together..."

I was intrigued by their proximity, but I didn’t dare ask. Thank you, Rhum-san! Julius smiles in his glass while drinking a shot then answers quietly.

"That’s kind of it. When your father came to Clover, I immediately became attached to him. Even if we do not come from the same planet, our ideals correspond in many points. We exchanged a lot on our worlds, it was very enriching. Even Marx admires José, it’s a bit like his second father." He looks down, immersed in his thoughts. _  
  
_

_A man who thinks is a sexy man._

I slowly growl at my own emotional negligence and I readjust my wristband for the umpteenth time. I feel the looks of Julius and my father on it, but for different reasons. I haven’t had time to tell my father the truth since my vision.

"Are you alright, Yuki?" Julius asks me innocently. I finish my glass with one stroke, grimacing somewhat of the heavy treatment I inflict on my liver. I put my glass on the table, get up and answer Julius right in the eye, with a little smile. " It’s okay, I just fell off the broom and my wrist is wrinkled. Nothing serious." and I’m heading into the garden, leaving the men between them without even waiting for a potential response.  
  
The sun goes down slowly. The wind rises, blowing pleasantly between the branches of the fruit trees that sit in my father’s vast garden. I take off my shoes, leaving my bare feet walking in the freshly mowed grass. The garden is crossed in its width by a small artificial stream coming from a fountain which was certainly built by my father, regarding its Japanese style. A wooden bridge leads to the other side of the garden, where other fruit trees and bushes of all kinds decorate the garden. There is a light wood swing, finely worked, under a huge linden tree.

_Grandpa Raymond would be proud of his son.  
  
_

I catch a few ripe black cherries on the cherry tree just after the bridge, then sit on the swing, my right knee folded towards me. My left foot swings over the lawn, my toes occasionally pulling out strands of grass.

This world does exist. My father is alive, he is happy. I feel so bad that I have to tell him my next death, I experienced it myself when he told me his own death. So that’s what it feels like at that point?

I’m eating a cherry, dropping the tail on the floor.

_Sweet to the core, slightly sour, with strawberry fragrance. Dad grafted the tree.  
_

I store the nucleus in one cheek, and I continue to eat the other cherries. I almost choke on when Julius approaches me. I didn’t see him or feel him coming, how did he camouflage its magic? I climbed on my knees on the swing, turning his back, to spit out my stock of nuclei, then sat down quickly, and the sight in front of me hypnotized me for a few moments. The last rays of sunshine seem to caress his face, his blond hair turned golden and flamboyant. Apollo would be downright jealous, or in love. The gods are pansexual, after all.

Julius is pulling me out of my daydream with a joke.  
"Do I have something on my face?" His smile is even more beautiful with this diffuse light.

I thank my years of theatre that allow me to remain stoic against a beautiful man. Unless it’s my brain that routinely drops me in the face of so much pressure.

"Just a ray of sunshine, I’ve never seen a zebra Wizard King before!" I tease, humor being my best defense. I move to the left end of the bench, in case Julius would like to sit down.

What he does, after smiling at my dubious joke. "Are you sure your wrist is okay? I can cure you if you wish!" He offers me kindly. He gently swings us with one foot, I stick my legs against my chest, my arms enclosing them.  
"I'm okay, thank you. It’s not painful, it just feels... awkward. It will heal itself over time!" I said, graciously refusing his offer. He watches me for a few moments, head to the side.

"Do I have something on my face?" I ask him, giving him a smirk, sending him back a few minutes earlier. Surprised for a moment, he seemed to recover and then answered me: "Just an indecipherable smile, I had never seen such a secret woman before!" This answer had the effect of hitting me in the heart, a nervous laugh escapes from my mouth.  
"Can I ask you a question as Wizard King?" His voice is serious, I sit properly, straight as an I, urging him to continue.  
"Why do you wish to become Magic Knight?" The blond pierces me with his eyes, his irises like galaxies.

I drop a little "hm" of thought, thinking about the answer I could give. I must first know what he knows about me first.

"What did my father tell you about me, exactly? About my coming into this world?"

He stops the swinging, confused, but answers me.

"José told us the main lines. That you were one of the few people in your home world to possess powers, that an evil entity wanted to kill you and that your allies sent you here to strengthen you, and especially protect you. Marx tried to use his memory magic on you, but it seems to be protected by an external spell." _  
  
_

_Aether. It can only be him. Damien does not have this magic there, James is Zeus's son so apart from lightning and some other spells..._

"If I want to become a Magic Knight, it's to protect my father and my loved ones from this... Entity. As long as I'm in this world, it's by far the best way to act without being outside the law. I just hope that coming from another world won’t stop me from having a Grimoire, otherwise..."

I leave the end of my sentence in suspense, a deep malaise invading me. I rise suddenly, pretexting to stretch my arms to the sky. I startle when a magic appears, also surprising Julius.  
"My Lord! What are you still doing! Have you seen the time? The work is piling up again and again and I’m sick and tired of covering for you while you..."

"Ah, Marx! Come on, calm down, you’ll have a heart attack at thirty if you keep getting angry!"  
  


Marx turned crimson red in no time, the poor boy brushes the stroke at any time. At the same time, he’s working for a man who doesn’t look at all alike.

"Y- YOU LAUGH AT ME?!! COME BACK TO THE CASTLE!!!" And it cuts the communication.

Julius also rises and to my greatest surprise, puts his hand on my shoulder. A shiver crosses my spine. _  
  
_

_MAYDAY MAYDAY!  
_

_  
_"The day after tomorrow, I’ll pick you up here and we’ll go get your Grimoire. It's better that I catch up with my work before Marx holds me for life!"

"It would be a shame indeed." I told him, offering a compassionate smile.

"Have a nice evening, Yuki." He takes his hand off, moving away towards the middle of the garden.

"Good evening, Julius." I salute him with a gesture of the hand. A golden light appears, enveloping Julius, who disappears the next moment, leaving me alone.

I go back inside the house, Papa on the porch of the terrace. The time of truth has come. I swallowed the bile that came up under stress, took a long breath, then...

"Dad, I'm..."

"I know, cariña. I guessed." he stopped me, his voice gentle and compassionate. He hugged me tightly.

"I don’t want to die..." I said, bursting into tears. _  
_

* * *

 _  
_ _ **178  
  
**_ The next day arrived and Dad left for his mission in the Heart Kingdom, I frankly did not want to go out. I preferred to stay in the garden, to restore my physical health through draconian exercises consisting of abdominals, pushups, pumps and other tortures from the point of view of a normal woman. After I was exhausted, I ended up taking a bath, then a nap in the garden. I drew quite a bit thanks to my father’s equipment, burning my sketches with my little flame, out of deep frustration. I did the housework instead.

I’ve always hated loneliness, even though I like being alone.

_Only when I decide to, especially._

But the day passed quickly, then the evening, and without realizing the next day arrived.

* * *

_**177** _

I set my alarm for seven hours, which as normal is early, for me. After I showered, I dressed in the clothes my father gave me on the first day. Then I went for breakfast.

_A liter of coffee will motivate me._

I’m doing it, taking a little fifteen minutes to sustenance myself. I go to finish my coffee when suddenly I almost drown, a powerful but familiar magic appearing in the garden. As I catch my breath, the coffee having passed through the wrong way, I see in the middle of the emerald grass a fiery red cape floating gracefully, due to the teleportation magic. The owner of this one greets me and I go out in a hurry in the garden.  
"Do you want to kill me before my time or what? I was near cardiac arrest with your jumpscare!" Julius is holding back a laugh at my rebuke and outraged look. " Sorry, this is much more convenient than coming to broom! And I don’t think I would have killed you just by scaring you, you’re young and you have your whole life ahead of you!"  
His smile is radiant. It would almost make me forget that I don't have my whole life in front of me. I shake this thought off my head and close the bay window behind me, ready to go. I send Julius a smile as radiant as his. " So... we’re going through your teleportation?" He stretches out his arm to me, which I accept and without saying a word, takes us in a halo of light to our destination.  
  
  


An imposing circular tower stands before us, in the middle of a dense forest. Two other small towers connected to the main by high walls welcome us, indicating the path to take. Julius leads the way and I am following his imposing stature.

_Just because I impose myself a draconian regime doesn't mean that I cannot admire the menu._

_  
  
_His messy hair looks very soft... I wonder what is their smell? And this cape... It really leaves too much room for the imagination. It has an angel face but I wonder if the rest is also divine.

Finally realizing that I 'm digressing too much, I discreetly pull my cheek in order to call me to order as we enter this tower. The time my eyes adjust to the brightness and my jaw falls suddenly in front of this spectacle that would have made a bookworm come.

The bookcases are stacked against the walls and stick together one after the other, on an indefinable height, all filled with grimoires as different from each other. Opposite the entrance is a high circular platform and a kind of desk and the ceiling has a clover-shaped opening, allowing natural light to pass through. I move next to Julius, who seems delighted with my astonishment. A noise catches my attention, a carpet crowned with green descends towards us, led by what seems to be the master of the place. An old man looking like Dumbledore, dressed in red with a sorcerer’s hat of the same color, stands behind the desk and observes me for a few moments, like an old wise owl.

"Julius! This young woman looks promising, I understand why you wanted her to have her Grimoire as soon as possible!"

"She is my dear Drouot! This is Yuki, thank you for welcoming us out of the official ceremony!"

I bow respectfully.

"Thank you for your precious time, Monsieur Drouot."

He’s clearing his throat.

"Let’s not waste time. It’s time to give you your Grimoire!"

Therefore, a seismic earthquake appears slowly and I confess to being somewhat disturbed by it. I take a look at Julius, who, despite his usual smile, has a strange glimmer in his eyes. Sensing that I was staring at him, he turned to me, the strange light having left his amethyst eyes. He beckons me to move a little further into the center of the room, the shaking becoming a little more intense. The books shudder in their shelves, and after what seemed to me to be an eternity, an intense violet and golden light makes its appearance. It gradually descends towards me and by reflex, I reach out to it.

_My Grimoire. No doubt._

The light caresses my fingers, warm and powerful at the same time. The Grimoire makes its appearance above my hands and I fall from the clouds. It’s not a book. It’s a gold and blue cryptex, about 15 inches long and 4 inches wide, I would say. It's finely crafted and has nine cylinders containing the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. The ends of the main cylinder are decorated with amethysts. This object intimidates me while appearing familiar, I dare not touch it.

My eyes go to the Master of the Tower who rushes to me as if he had Lucifer on his heels. His owl eyes are revulsed, his jaw is broken, and I’m sure he’s had a cerebral arrest. I rotate my head towards Julius, his magic-loving eyes back on his face and I think he’s brain-dead too. Drouot manages to articulate a few words.

"T-The... Akashic Records!!!!"

_Oh._

I know very well what it means. And I already know in advance what are the spells contained in it. All my different incarnations, all the different powers that I could have in my previous lives, all the races that I was, absolutely everything is in this cryptex that now serves me as Grimoire.

Without giving the gentlemen time to digest the information, I let the Grimoire rest in my hands.

On contact, a powerful energy, mine, envelops me in gold and violet in a tornado that rises to the ceiling, spinning at an exponential speed. My senses are blurring, my body is numbing, my heart beating at a frantic pace in its cage of bone and blood. My wrist burns, my brain contracts painfully, my memories come back to me. _  
  
_

_"Our daughter is special."_

_"Chronos is going after her, he must not put his hand on her!"_

_"My name is Gabriel, I'm an Archangel and your new protector."_

_"Sorry... I have to seal Atlantis with my life."_

_"Nefertiri, your body is sacred, which is why we mummify our dead at death."_

_"Give me your blood, Dante."_

_"_ _Who are you?" " Call me Aether. I am your new Guardian"_

_"I never wanted this life"_

_"Wherever you go, you won’t be alone"_

_"I want to fight with you!"_

_"_ _Find him... find him and protect him."_

An image creeps into my memories. A man. I know him.

_"Find the Wizard King. He is the key. Protect him."_

_"Time and Space are inseparable."_

_"It is a miracle, like the creation of life."  
  
_

The influx is reaching its peak. My energy, my mana, returns brutally to my body, soothing the tornado that roared in the Grimoire Tower. My senses come back to life little by little, my breath stabilizes and my pulse too. The light fades and everything returns to normal.

I dare not look at the two men, obsessed with the reminiscences of my past lives and the goal of my coming to this world, clearer than ever.

_How am I gonna deal with Julius after this?_

* * *


	7. Magic Knight Entrance Exam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki is going to pass the Magic Knight Entrance Exam.

_Five days have passed since I obtained my Grimoire, the Akashic Records. Apparently this year will have been rich in new talents, the first person to get a powerful Grimoire being a fifteen-year-old young man named Yuno, from Hage. He would have received a Grimoire with four leaves, in the same style as the Grimoire of the first Mage Emperor, Lumiel Silvamillion. Which would have made a lot of noise knowing that he is a commoner and an orphan._

_After leaving the Grimoire Tower, I felt Julius boiling with impatience at the demonstration of my powers. As I needed to evacuate too much magic – that’s either it, or my body is destroying faster - I immediately accepted, asking him beforehand to lead us to a deserted area, so as not to do collateral damage. So he teleported us to the northern edge of the Forsaken Realm, to the border of the Neutral Zone._

_"That should be enough, you won’t have to worry if you have trouble controlling your magic." He reassured me with his usual radiant smile. I don't know how but I was able to keep my stoic expression while I was literally burning in front of him, my body being much more honest than me. But what astonished me greatly was the colour of my flames. Violets in their hearts, gilded at the tip. The ground burned around me a meter in diameter, without burning me or burning my clothes.  
Fortunately, Julius seemed to take my spontaneous combustion for haste, his eyes sparkling with curiosity, his fists clenched towards him. I took a great inspiration before levitating and getting away from the Magic Knight. Cryptex in hand, it began to float lazily around me and I undertook to open it using my instinct.  
"Νοβαφωτία" I whispered inaudiblely, the nine cylinders of the Cryptex-Grimoire stopping on the corresponding letters. A little «click» was heard, one of the ends of the Cryptex being unlocked, letting out a long parchment in front of me. I caress it with my dominant hand, reading what is there. They are not spells strictly speaking, for the majority they are the first names that I could have in my other lives, with a short description of the abilities that I had during these periods and a small drawing of my appearances. _

_So if I understood correctly, I can switch appearance and essence as I see fit, altering and modifying my abilities.  
_

_That would help organize my magic better. I wouldn’t need the Cryptex to use my elemental magic or even my arcane-type spells but to fight seriously, yes. I was just hoping I wouldn’t have to pronounce the name of my spells before use, like a Magical Girl._

_«The shape of your Grimoire is really out of the norm! An_ _infinite_ _parchment housed in a complex cryptex, I had never seen anything like it before!» made me Julius, two meters lower. I smile, proud of my Grimoire. I ordered the parchment mentally to return to the Cryptex and it closed, the nine cylinders resetting. With a gesture of a hand, he dematerialized and his essence penetrated my heart, under the dazzled gaze of the blond who accompanied me._

 _My arms stretched out on my sides, my body arched, the flames intensified while my extra mana evacuated. My spiritual and esoteric abilities had fully returned, I could finally fight again if Chronos reappeared. An idea comes to me as I purged my body.  
  
_ _I will cast a long-term detection spell. If Chronos crosses the territory of the Clover Kingdom, I will be notified immediately._

_I materialized in the palm of my hand a silver orb of electro-magnetic magic and directed it into the sky, propelling it into the highest layer of the atmosphere. It burst like fireworks, covering the whole Kingdom with particles of brilliant brilliance. I synchronized the particles with my soul, setting them to alert me to the presence of Chronos. The particles became invisible and undetectable to the rest of the world. I went down to earth, my magic calmed down. Julius approached me, incredulous._

_«What was this spell? It covered the whole Kingdom!» The excitement is palpable, his voice a little high pitched than usual._

_“I cast a detection spell to be able to prevent a potential attack from...From the Titan.” I almost said too much. It didn't missed, the face of Julius showed an air of suspicion. I spoke first._

_“When I become a Magic Knight, I will tell you my story in more detail. I promise.”_

_His gaze softened. He looked at my hair and gave a little laugh. I shook my head and noticed that my magic had still made my hair grow a little lower than my shoulders.  
I sighed, too accustomed of this little issue. "And I'm gone again to spend my time cutting them..." I said, a lock of hair between the fingers. “It suits you pretty well, I think.” He threw it at me without warning. My mouth opened slightly as I looked at Julius, somewhat incredulous, before I stepped on it. “You’ll see that within a month, if I still haven’t cut my hair, I’ll have to wrap it around my neck!” He laughs before offering to take me home. I refused politely, having regained my powers I preferred to fly around the Kingdom. I thanked him for having accompanied me and our paths parted.  
_

* * *

_  
  
_Today is the day of the Magic Knights Entrance Exam, an event that takes place every year in September and this time it is Monday, September 2. Yami explained to me the day before where to go and what to do once there, and knowing that the exam would take place in Kikka delighted me at the highest point, this city being the first I visited.

Once my breakfast is swallowed, I leave to prepare quickly, opting for black pants and a purple dress with long sleeves, recalling the new color of my flames.  
I’m wearing my lucky pendant, a gold-tone choker with an ankh. This necklace is a necklace that I made on Earth, and where I embedded some enchantments including one that completely camouflages my magic energy. My pair of black boots, a brown belt with its little black saddlebags and the trick is done.  
I am teleporting to the entrance of Kikka, much more crowded for the upcoming event. I cross the central avenue to reach the coliseum where the exams will take place. A crowd gathered in front of the imposing structure, separated by a corridor for aspiring Magic Knights. I continue my way until I reach the threshold of the colosseum, ignoring the crowd in delirium. I follow the direction of the sign that shows the path on the left and I arrive at ticket offices where three lines are clearly formed. I’ll get in line and wait.

A cry of excitement rises not far from me and I see a young man, blond ash hair, waving his grimoire at the nose of the clerk of inscriptions. I’m laughing inside myself.  
  


_Youth is beautiful._

My turn comes after five minutes of waiting. The man with the sprinkler asks me my name.

“Yuki Bellafotia.”

He searches in his notebook, finds me, and asks me for my Grimoire. I invoke and hold it. His eyes spread monstrously and he almost choked when he exclaimed «A cryptex!» He touches it, a white glow emanates from him, then says “Number 170”.

I thank him and join the central terrain.

Many hopeful young teenagers are already there, some surrounded by birds, others not. No bird approaches me, I wonder why? On the other hand, the little loudy of earlier... He is literally harassed by these black-feathered beasts. Curious, I probe this young.  
  


_He is... Like humans on Earth! Devoid of powers! But this smell of sulfur.._

I wrinkle the nose, trying to remember where I could really smell this scent. Another smell takes over on that of the blond, more pleasant. A smell of spring wind, peppermint and cut herbs. I look around and I find the origin. Another young man with ebony hair, rather tall for his age, and with a much more powerful magic than that of the other teenagers combined.

_Hmm... I bet it’s that famous Yuno._

My thinking is broken when the little blond unintentionally strikes Yami, who turned around, threatens this poor boy by showing his murderous aura. I don’t know what took the kid but Yami goes to crush his brain with one hand. Fortunately, Finral comes right behind to calm the game. Oh, no, it doesn’t work.

A fireworks display is the boy’s salvation, Yami dropping his scalp. His eyes sweep over the coliseum and when he stops at me, he nods at me, as if to greet me. Then he leaves.  
The crowd of aspirants gets restless when the captains make their appearance on the balcony and I get a little closer. My mind escapes during the speech, I prefer action to blah. I startle when a magic of plants brings branches to us, to form into a broom.

One of the captains, with a white and red feathered mask and painted in gold and blue, speaks.

"The test to become Magic Knight will begin!"

  
He quickly explains that there will be several tests, that following these, captains will make their choice: if a captain chooses us, we have no choice but if several captains choose us, we can decide which company we want to go to.

_The Voice version fantasy._

For this test, I just have to fly away in a broom. I drop a sigh as long as my broom, it’s not for my age all this... The young man I guess is Yuno flies away with ease, standing on his broom. What a show-off... He woke up my sense of competition, that idiot.  
I float the broom at the height of my knees, using the bare minimum in magic, then I jump on it, crouch down and take off like a rocket above all. I increase the speed in one go, taking care to distribute my weight on the broom, as I would have done on a skateboard. I do a lap, go back to the center, always above the aspirants, then I decide to stretch. I hang myself in the void by the legs, the arms swinging. The young brown haired boy observes me with a smile in the corner.  
  
 _That isn't all._

I let go in a graceful salto, falling to the ground like a feline. I had missed showing off.

"Oohhh" and "ahhh!" resound in the colosseum and I make a greeting at the end of the show.

The other tests are not really better. Destroy a wall, shoot targets in motion through magic. Suffice to say that I succeeded with flying colors, and without going dead hand.  
Magical creation? I think I scared some people with a fire phoenix the size of an ancient dragon. Germinate a seed? Thank you to my best friend for training me on Earth, her power of earth will have helped me well. I sprouted it into a beautiful willow tree. They’ll just have to find a way to repot it somewhere else.

At the end, the masked captain speaks.

“We come to the end of the test. A real-life battle.” Another captain, a man with long red hair, stands up and screams. "IN BATTLE! Form groups of two and fight! You can attack with your Grimoire!"

Now all I have to do is find a partner. I don’t have to look long, a condescending-looking guy approaches me, a young brown haire boy with noble features. He looks up and down at me with his depraved eyes. He gives me a scornful smile and launches me "Your magic is nothing but smoke and mirrors, a woman of your rank can do nothing to me. I promise, if I beat you, I will still reconsider making you my slave."

I see red. My feminist education dreams of breaking his testicles with bare hands but my millennial status prefers a magical punishment. I roll my hips, put my hands on them, my infallible insurance clearly visible.

“Those who speak the most do the least, dearly. Don’t cry if a woman of my rank humiliates you in record time.” And I offer him my most predatory smile I have in stock. He freezes on the spot and I take this opportunity to point out to the examiner that we are in duet.  
  


 _I_ _’m gonna make you wish I hadn’t come my way._

Before that, I witnessed the fight of the two young people who intrigued me. Yuno – I had guessed it was him - is fighting a noble named Salim. He wields his magic with dexterity for his age, an elementary magic, that of the air. With training and time, he could become a great asset to this kingdom. Needless to say, he spread his opponent on the ground, it was quick.

The little screaming blond is called Asta, his opponent is a braggart named Sekke. The magic of Sekke is really... Pathetic. Asta, however, really intrigues me. He draws from his grimoire a rusty claymore, which slices the Sekke's magic as he would slice butter.

_An anti-magic sword? Interesting. That explains his lack of magic._

He has also spread his opponent, in the proper sense of the word. I wipe away a tear of laughter that pearl in my eyes. I wish my best friend could see that.

And it’s my turn. The little prick takes out his Grimoire while laughing, surely thinking of everything he could – not do – with me. I materialize my Grimoire again and I hear exclamations of unbelief in the gallery. Just there, I score points.  
The start is set, the fight begins. The noble seeks in his Grimoire his most powerful fate, I notice it with his look of dead fish looking for nuts to a shark. I don’t even want to give him the satisfaction of casting his spell, he chose the wrong day and the wrong person to fuck with. I bomb my chest, arms crossed under my chest, legs stabilized and I close my eyes, concentrating my energy in my coronal chakra.

_I’m gonna scare you so much, you’re gonna be a submissive man and you’re gonna love it._

When I open my eyes again, they have become biting, as if inflamed. I let the mana stored in my chakra violently evacuate around me, creating a deadly aura in the colors of my magic. The ground sinks under my feet as I slowly advance towards my victim. He decomposes, trembling from head to toe and once at a reasonable distance from this nobleman of junk, he falls to his knees crying, declaring forfeiture. A broad, evil smile stretches across my face, and the sound that comes out of it will freeze his blood. A bad laugh, similar to that of Hera who takes revenge after an umpteenth betrayal of Zeus. I hate the idea of getting psychologically close to the gods. I put an end to my psychological torture, my heavy aura disappears and my Grimoire too. Without saying a word, I turn my heels and stand aside, waiting for the duels to end.

* * *

  
  
The sun begins to set when the duels end, heralding the beginning of judgment. I stung for a little while because when I wake up, we are at aspirant number 163 who leaves empty-handed.

"The next one, number 164!" "I’m coming." said Yuno, hand on his pendant. " He comes forward and is patient.All the captains raise their hands, an evidence of this young man’s potential.

"I join the Golden Dawn." he said, confident of himself.

An amazing potential who joins the best squad in the Kingdom. I’m not surprised for a penny.

It is Asta’s turn. He steps forward and waits for judgment. No hands rise, the aspirants around him the gratification of «Get out of the way» and so on. I would so like to line them up and slap them each.. Yami gets up and speaks.

“Your fighting skills are impressive, but no one knows where you’re getting those so no one will want you.” His tone is dry, he doesn’t sugarcoat things.

_Yami, stop traumatizing him, I already know what you’re going to do._

«Finally, what a squad is really looking for is... Magical powers!» He continues, releasing his crushing violaceous aura.

_Dark magic! It explains its smell of tanned leather and opium!_

The captain jumps out of the gallery and approaches Asta, smoking as usual. I find the Asta's will particularly refreshing, he doesn't let himself down by Yami, even if his face becomes more and more tense. _  
  
_"No one is going to bother with a guy without magic power, that’s the harsh reality. Earlier, you said you wanted to be Wizard King, huh? Now that I am standing in front of you, dare to repeat the same thing to me, the magic-less." Threat Yami.

_With his power and character, he could apply to Hell and even replace Lucifer._

Asta swallows, eyes glued to the ground, and starts with a small voice. “Even if I don’t belong to any company, if I screw up several times, and no matter what they tell me...” His voice rises in intensity and determination, I can’t find the words to explain the weight it has on my own consciousness.  
“I will prove that I can become the Magic King!” says Asta, fists clenched.

Yami contemplates the little one for a few moments, cancels his aura and then bursts with laughter.

_I knew it._

I smile. "You’re funny! Go with us!" Decides Yami by pointing at Asta. The poor blondie is in shock, he probably hasn’t met any guys like Yami before. This change in situation does not help him to digest what's happening. The aspirants are also on the ass, there is only Yuno who, like me, already knew the outcome of this story. What confidence, it is magnificent.  
"I’m telling you to get your ass back to the Black Bull! By the way, you have no right to deflate." He still threatens, his sadistic gaze burning the poor boy.

I get a little lost in my thoughts, this Asta really looks exceptional. A guy without magic, in a magical world, who wants to become the most powerful man in the Kingdom, it forces respect. On Earth, I was a woman without magic, in a world without magic and I secretly dreamed of having it. Then, the day I had it, I was terrified, I thought I was alone with these powers and visions of my past lives. Seeing this young man so determined, with so much passion and energy, reminds me of my adolescence and the one I could have been before.  
"Number 170!" Oops, it’s my turn.

I stroll forward and stop in front of the gallery. I stare at the captains, waiting. One by one, the captains raise their hands and they are unanimous. Without waiting, with a grin, I announce my choice.

“I choose the Black Bull.” Yami sends back my grin, proud of having this year’s second most talented recruit. I see him moving his smile towards the masked captain. He laughs at him blithely.  
The selections are over, the night has fallen and we are out of the coliseum. Asta is gone I don't know where, and we are waiting for him with Yami and Finral. My new captain skillfully puts on my shoulders the cape of the Black Bull. I touch the fabric, contemplating its patch.

_I did. I can protect my father and Julius._

It turns out that Asta was in the bathroom doing the big commission, coming back he didn't omit a detail about it. This kid is worse than me. Finral opens a portal and we go back to the Den.

* * *

As for the first time I arrived at the Black Bull in the Vanessa's compagny, Asta takes a fireball from Magna. He tries so hard to introduce himself except that with all the noise in the building, he doesn’t get anything. Yami intervenes, all the members of the Black Bull line up on their knees in front of us.

"This loser is our new recruit, don’t haze him to death. And her...” he points to me, “You already know her, I won't haze her if I was you, otherwise you’re dead.” He’s got a point.  
Asta reasserts: «I am Asta, from the village of Hage! Delighted to meet you!» He is welcomed by the other members, I take this opportunity to say a word to my captain.

“If you’ll allow me, I’d like to spend my nights at my father’s. Just tell me what time I need to be here in the morning.” He shoots his cigarette, thoughtful. Exhaling the smoke, he gives me his answer "Ok, but you’ll have to cough up on a few things I noticed. Now that I'm your captain, you must put your cards on the table."

He’s smart. Very smart. Here’s a guy I couldn’t fool for long.

_That’s not true. Julius certainly understood that there was a problem._

"Okay. Just give me a month. I have to check some things before I tell you everything. It will not interfere with my new job and no one here will be involved in my problems.”

Yami finishes his cigarette and tosses the butt out.

“Deal. Tomorrow, 8:00 a.m.. Don’t be late or you’ll break. You won’t get special treatment.”

The deal set, I turn my heels and teleport home, exhausted from this long day.

* * *

[Yuki](https://imgur.com/a/zGocoLO)


	8. Dinner with the Wizard King and first mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki and Julius are having dinner together.

I arrive in the house' garden, I prefer to avoid teleporting in the street and cause a panic movement. The temperature has dropped, the garden is nice and fresh. I enter the living room through the bay window, I turn on the light and...

"AAAHHHHHR!!!!!!!!" My sharp cry resounds without difficulty in the building, followed by a burst of masculine laughter. "JULIUS!!!!" I try to catch my breath in front of my unattended visitor, sitting in one of the lounge chairs. The blondie holds back his tears of laughter, I see him in his eyes brighter than usual. My hand on my heart to feel if it still beats, I lie down on the couch, hoping that my tension will decrease even a minimum.  
"Sorry to scare you every time I visit you, I wanted to know how your Magic Knight exams went and I figured you’d be home!" His voice has softened, his face is reassuring. I almost managed to calm down when I realized that the Wizard King was at home, without my father’s presence.

  
"Say... Do my father knows that you are entering the home of one of your new recruits, who is his daughter, without his consent?" Julius smiles timidly, eyes closed while rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Your father allowed me to visit you to make sure you were okay! I have a little time ahead of me and I don’t mind.” I sigh, the explanation is logical but the person who watches over me is a little less so. Dad could have charged someone less eminent to look after his daughter, not the Wizard King!

« Αυτός ο άντρας έκανε πάντα όπως θέλει, πεθαίνει και αλλάζει τον κόσμο δεν έχει διαταράξει τις κακές του συνήθειες! »  
_“This man has always done nothing but change his world at his own head, and his bad habits have not been disturbed even if he died and got here !”_

“Don’t blame him, he finds his daughter after five years, I would do the same,” says Julius, standing up in the chair. 

_I hate when I go into Greek mode in front of a Hellenist._

Sulky, I give him that point. By the way, he asked me a question!

« My exams went well, it was very simple to perform and I was selected by all the captains, without exception. And I joined Yami and the Black Bull." I tell Julius, who regained his curious and playful air. He really looks like an angel, even in his state of magic lover. « And the duel! I heard that your opponent had petrified himself in front of your aura! I would have loved to see you at work! Such a magic of intimidation, which even bends the ground to your will, it’s crazy! »  
  
I laugh, remembering this duel... No. This one-way beating. I get off the couch and go to the kitchen.

« This little prick insulted me, supposing that my magic was only window dressing and that he would reconsider when I was defeated to make me his slave. I taught him his place. You shouldn’t go after someone like me.” I drop a little giggle and from the corner of the eye, sees Julius displaying a little curious look. I search the cupboards, find what to cook and forget for a moment the rank of my guest.  
“By the way, I promised you I would tell you everything if I became a Magic Knight, if you have time you could stay for dinner with me, I'm starving and I'm unmanageable and uncooperative with an empty stomach...” A little silence settles after finishing my sentence and I raise my head towards Julius, ashamed. « Sorry! You may have already had dinner or other projects! Excuse my awkwardness! »

Julius jumps up and shakes his hands in the air as a negation. « No! You don’t have to apologize! I’ve had a long day and I haven’t had dinner yet, and as you say you promised me some explanations, this is the perfect opportunity! » He reassures me, approaching the counter separating the kitchen, the living room, and the two of us.

“And I haven’t been totally honest with you either, your father has told me a lot about you over the last five years.” I startled, the potatoes I had found in the cupboard jumping out of my hands to end on the counter.

_What the hell did he say to Julius?_

Julius, facing my wide-eyed eyes, understands my inner struggle so as not to attack my father on his return.

« But don’t worry, he didn’t say anything negative or compromising about you! José only showed old photos of you, he told me anecdotes, what were your dreams at the time... He is a father very attached to his precious daughter! » He observed, leaning on the counter, smiling mischievously. I freeze for a fraction of a second on the spot, the last potato peeled in my hand.

This smile will kill me faster than my magic. One part of me admires these perfect lips, which look incredibly sweet and the other part of me sincerely thinks to silence definitively any emotion in me, so as not to succumb to these lips. I have to pull myself together. I’m sorry, potatoes, you’re going to mope up my soul.  
I grab the knife and cut the potatoes into fries, under Julius' curious gaze.

« Yes, for me he is the perfect father. He knew how to make me realize my dreams, which I gave up when he died, so as not to leave my mother alone. I hope to make up for it in the time I stay here. » I turn to the sink to rinse my fries and I take out the fridge the eggs, a salad, red fruits and a bottle of beer. I’ll get us a drink each.

« In the time you stay here? » He repeats, then drinks a sip of his glass. His tone has become more serious, I’ll have to choose my words carefully. I also drink my beer to recover a little courage, and while preparing the red fruit salad, I inhale and in my exhalation, I launch myself.  
  


« My wrist is not just an injury. There are... numbers engraved on it. A countdown. Right now I’m at 172, tomorrow it will go to 171. » My left hand is unconsciously bothering me, forcing me to clench my fist. The intensity of Julius' gaze at my wrist makes me shiver for a moment.

« And what will happen when the countdown reaches 0? » He asked me, going straight to the point. His voice is still as serious. I was swallowing, nervous. I can’t tell the truth. Not now. If I really need to look after him, he needs to know only the bare minimum. I sigh and answer him by looking him straight in the eye, gathering all my assurance available.

« I would leave the Kingdom of Clover the same way I arrived. »

«Hm...» Julius caresses his chin, analyzing the information. I get tense, inspecting the slightest reaction on his part.

_Please make him swallow that snake.  
_

_  
_ He breathes a sigh, dazzling his hair already messy with one hand, the other carrying his glass to his mouth to drink.

« I understand better why you’re always on the alert, it can’t be obvious to have this pressure on your shoulders. » He finally let go of me, after what seemed to be an eternity.

And by Gaia, I know about eternity. My shoulders loosen, the pressure falls down slowly. I have this knot in my stomach, this latent but present apprehension. I promised myself one day that I would never lie again, and now I’m lying to my savior, my guardian angel. To repent as best I can, I will tell him about my past. I must do so.

“It’s nothing yet. So wait for the next...” I put the fruit salad cups in the fridge and start preparing the _tortilla española_. Julius sits on the stool and his silence tells me to continue my story.  
  


I explain to him that even though I'm physically going to be 26 years old, my soul is much older than he can imagine. That my soul is special, that I'm of divine descent, that in every life I live only 26 years, not any longer, murdered every time. That on the day I turned 25, if I wasn’t born into a family that practiced magic, mine was revealed at that time along with my previous memories. That at that moment, the famous Titan called Chronos began to chase me, to impregnate me or kill me if necessary. That gods, including James, Eros and Aether are my precious allies, in addition to Damien, better known as the Archangel Gabriel.  
As I empty my bag, Julius' beautiful lavender eyes get lost in the void. He has his hands crossed, his head placed between them. I suddenly stop speaking out of fear of his judgment. Its features are marked, a small wrinkle of expression deepens on its forehead and reinforces its natural charm. Julius emerges from his torpor, redirecting his gaze towards me. He addresses a sorry expression to me, devoid of pity. « It must be horrible to live like this, without being able to really build your life, or be fully happy. » He said to me, bitter.  
  
I flip the _tortilla_ to cook the other side and a nervous sneer escapes me. Julius straightens, surprised by my reaction. « I didn’t mean to make fun, sorry. I was just thinking that my life, in this life, stopped the day my father died in my world. And as he told you, I used to be happy. I’m not waiting for more, now that I know who I am. » I explain, throwing myself into the preparation of the entrance, to keep my hands busy and my mind with it. « Don’t you have anyone waiting for you in your world? A loved one? Family? Friends? » He worries.

_Stop staring at me with that compassionate, gentle look...  
_

_  
«_ Yes, I have family and friends, like everyone else. Two cats, who are in the good care of my allies. No significant other, though. And given my previous lives, it’s no worse. In ten thousand years, I got married – from what I know of the memories at my disposal – only three times. And it ended badly each time. One of us would die the first month of the marriage. Not to mention the two pregnancies I had, which ended in miscarriage. I am the most cursed goddess in my world! » I say ironically, with a tear in my eye.

« Still happy that in ten thousand years of existence, my soul was put in sleep for seven millennia. Only in the last three millennia have I been truly active, my soul having been sealed at the same time as I sealed the ancient kingdom of my Divine Father. »

The meal is ready and I'm aware that I threw a terrible cold in the room. I take the dishes on the table at the corner of the kitchen, near the bay window and Julius joins me. His hand rests on my shoulder, it is pleasantly warm and soft, even through my cape. He looks at my cape with the Bull insigna, then my eyes, and says to me, optimistic.

« You are in a different world from your original world. Things will certainly happen differently. A squad is also a family and I know for a fact that Yami will never let you down, and so will your father, and so will I. »

I realize the closeness between us and with what seems to be a half-promise, my heart is racing and my breathing accelerates slightly.  
  


_That smell... black musk and sandalwood. Where have I ever smelled it...?_

My ability to detect the magic by their different smells wakes up. Black musk and sandalwood, my Achilles heel. Two beautiful fragrances that combine beautifully.

I am drawn from my olfactory analysis by a slight pressure on my shoulder and a sudden cold where Julius’s hand was placed. I stand up, my mood is cheerful again, and we sit down to dinner.

The meal was pleasant, we discussed banalities, magic, the life of Magic King, of Marx who scold Julius at his slightest exit during his work. The clock was ticking, and my engraving changed to _**171**_. It was late, and Julius rose to return to the castle, having thanked me beforehand for this good meal. « I won’t have the opportunity to visit you in the next few days, I have a fire investigation. If you need anything, help with Chronos or anything, don’t hesitate to talk to me about it, » he added, courteously. I nod, wishing him good night. He leaves in his halo of light, leaving the house suddenly empty, and cold.

I quickly wash the dishes and then, after a quick shower, go to bed.

* * *

  
  
_I wake up in this space separated from the world and time. At least my astral body wakes up in this confined and infinite place at the same time. I float quietly in the air, I know I’m in a vision. I just have to wait for Aether._

_But my expectation is not long. Unless it was, but I didn’t feel it? Anything is possible here. Anything is possible with my Guardian, especially._

_His energy appears, I turn around and I see Aether, always with his mask and the same outfit._

_He approaches me and materializes my Cryptex-Grimoire from my own heart, where I hide it most of the time. My surprise becomes great, how does he manage to do that? He reads the question on my face and with a little laugh, eludes the question._

“ _I am pleased to see that you have your Grimoire. Congratulations also on your position as Magic Knight!” He applauds, his metallic voice echoing in space._

_«Thank you» I answer him timidly. He gives me back my Grimoire, which I return to its place, in my heart. Then I feel Aether close to me, his arms slip behind my back and hug me tight._

_« So you decided to lie, I see. » His voice is serious but not accusatory. I remain silent, which he rightly takes as a statement._

_« Are you lying for yourself, to protect yourself? Or to protect Julius and your squad? » The question is relevant._

_« Both. I mustn't lose control, and you know it. I can't get attached, or let others get attached to me. »I answer him honestly._

_His embrace is tightening. I feel safe, at peace, even though I don’t know what my Guardian looks like. I just know he’s there for me._

_« Don’t forget the myths you read when you were younger. It's by wanting at all costs to avoid the inevitable that one provokes what one avoids. » He warned me, before releasing me slowly._

_Then he disappears as quickly as he came. Everything blurs around me, I'll wake up._

* * *

_8 AM_

As expected, I am on time at the Den. I see Asta lost outside, half asleep. I call him and he startles, caught off guard. "Ah! Yuki! I'm completely lost! It's impossible to find the bathroom and I'm sure that the rooms have changed places!" The little blond ash stops, a sound of water is heard. What could it be?

The answer is not heard, a giant ball of water is heading straight for us. I dodge in a flip, but Asta didn’t react in time and takes it in the face. I look to the place of the magic, and I see a exhausted teenager, hands on her knees, her beautiful silver hair in ponytails.

_She looks like one of the squad captains._

“Why... Why it's not happening the way I want it to?” she says, frustrated at the most. She seems to be in the midst of an inner struggle, a struggle against herself and her powers. I feel her magic fluctuating, it's powerful but unstable. I can’t help feeling sympathy for this kid who looks like me at the level of magic control. She straightens herself, a new determination in her rosy gaze. She concentrates her magic, trying to control her spell but there is something wrong...

«Why... Why... WHY?»

Yeah, her frustration is the beginning of the answer to why her magic is out of control. Her mana panics and the young woman finds herself trapped in her own spell, an immense watery sphere rising in the air, with waterspouts waving from one side to the other, between the ground and the water prison. I’m getting closer to the Den, the other members of the squad alerted by the influx of mana. Vanessa didn’t take the time to get dressed, bottle in hand.  
« Well... »

« Well, what a magic. » Yami continues.

« She’s out of control. Better act quickly, otherwise... » Magna continues, amazed by the girl. Good thinking, Lincoln, this young woman is drowning in her spell. « If only we had someone capable of neutralizing magic... » Think Yami out loud.

His wish is granted, Asta falls from a tree directly to our feet. « Ah! You fall well! Perfect timing! » And he grabs him by the collar, in the throwing position. «Do something for it» orders the captain to Asta. The poor man peeps his eyes «What? Huh? Wait! What am I supposed to do? And I’m not flying!» Scream the future human missile as Yami takes momentum for his Asta launch. “Push your limits. Here and now.”

Yami contracts all his muscles and invokes a little magic to propel Asta into the air. I’m sure he crossed the sound wall with his wrist motion for the first second. Asta rushes towards the watery sphere, takes out his grimoire, his sword, and cuts the sphere with a sharp blow, breaking the magic. Asta and Noelle – I finally got the name of the girl by Vanessa – fall from the air, rescued by Finral at the last moment

«Spatial Magic: Fallen Angel Gate!»

The young people find themselves in Finral's gate, then crash on the ground horizontally through the exit gate.

_It hurts when it happens, I sympathize._

«YESSS I'M ALIVE!!! THANK YOU MISTER SPATIAL!!!» Shouts Asta, equal to himself but relieved to be alive.

« Well done, little one! » Congratulate Yami, proud as a rooster. « Ah! Eh, you! » Asta addresses Noelle, who is still on the ground, groaning. I feel the young woman’s concern. Having being like her before, I already know that she feels ashamed. « It's downright insane your magic!! You are extraordinary!! God, I'm too jealous, I have no power! With practice, you will eventually master it... And nothing will stop you! I have to work hard not to be a failure. » Amazes Asta, surprising Noelle at the highest point. She is mouth-watered and I swear to see her cheeks pink in front of Asta.  
  
_Ooh... A future love story? I live for love stories. I ship that to death._

« What? So you don’t regulate your magic, do you? You should have told us earlier, Your Loser Royal! » Magna teased her.

« We are the Black Bulls, a good bunch of losers. Your little flaws are not much, silly. » Reassure Yami, cigarette in the mouth.

Finral, Charmy and Vanessa also reassure Noelle, one by flirting, the other by bringing food and the last by offering private lessons. Asta reaches out to Noelle, who humbly accepts his hand. I, in turn, approach the young woman.

“I didn’t have time to properly introduce myself. I’m Yuki, so pleased to meet you, Noelle.”

"It’s nice to meet you too..." she told me.

_  
Oh, Tsundere Alert!_

« I know that we just met and in strange circumstances but... I just want to tell you that I was like you. I always am. I’m still learning to control my magic and like you, I’m frustrated with my family. If you need to talk, I’m here. » I propose nicely to Noelle, who looks at me, amazed.

« How do you...? »

« How do I know your family is a problem? Magic control and family go hand in hand, I live something similar, so I understood that you were tormented by something like that. » I explain, offering her a reassuring smile. For a short moment she gives me my smile, then finds her sulky expression.

“Thank you.. I guess.” She folds her arms, looks away.

“Let’s go home, you’ll catch cold.” I told her, pointing to the Den.

After this incident, we all meet for breakfast, and I discover Grey, a young woman hidden by her magic of transformation. Another almost desperate case in this squad. Discussions about the roles of a Magic Knight are well underway, until Yami entrusts the youth with the mission of hunting wild boar in the village of Saussy. “You go too, Yuki.” Yami commands me, his eyes cutting me without even touching me. « Only if you tell me where you buy your cigarettes, I haven’t solicited my lungs for too long. » He spits out his smoke, gives me the information I desire and a cigarette for the road, to bribe me. I join Asta, Noelle and Magna, the three of them on the broom of their elder who is...

_What is this metalhead broom? It looks like the Harley Davidson of magic brooms!_

I cry laughing in front of the three kids on the broom, it’s a hilarious scene. Magna saw my mockery badly and threatened to leave me in the lurch, except that I know how to fly. Under his incredulous gaze, I intensify my magic and I hover next to him. I stick my tongue out and I go ahead, heeled by the comedy trio. When we get to the village, it is covered with mist. But not with normal mist... A magical mist.

_The trouble is starting._


	9. The Ice Bastard and Opening Chakras

“The village... Is covered by mist? The weather is rotten around here.” Asta says, somewhat disturbed.

"Moron! It’s magic! I doubt we can achieve our goal... even if we get into this place." Replies Noelle, stinging.

Yes, we can. We have in our team a little guy with a particular talent.

"Eh, Asta, cut this mist with your sword." Orders Magna, endowed with common sense. Asta, on the other hand, is a little less. "What an ignorant... Swords don’t cut the fog."

"You are the ignorant! Your sword is able to cut through all magic!" Magna shouted, exasperated.

Neither one nor two, Asta draws his sword from his Grimoire and shakes it in all directions in this suspicious fog, which disintegrates at his touch. Once gone, the horror invades us when our eyes fall on a sad spectacle. The villagers are grouped in the center of the village, seated, with above their heads twenty or more floating stalactites. All the villagers, women and children included, are badly beaten and lost in despair. The blood boils in my body.

“Let’s start the execution.” Hear a voice as frigid as these stalactites. On this sentence, the stalactites are released on the population and before I have time to react, Magna and Asta throw themselves into the fight.

«Fire Magic! Multi-fire Explosion!»

Flaming mini-missiles destroy these ice guillotines, summoned by Magna. I cannot help smiling, these young people are reactive and promising. The villagers are regaining hope. "The Magic Knight came to our rescue?"

"What’s going on here?" Growls the fire mage, threatening.

The tears of a little boy attract the Magna's attention.

"Grandfather, your prayer was heard..." The little blond is kneeling beside an elderly man. I scan his vital signs and my stomach twists in front of the evidence. This man unfortunately died as a result of his injuries.

"Dude! Hey! Old man! Hang in there!" Magna rushed in. I grabbed him by the wrist, aware that he would not appreciate the gesture. He gives me a haggard look and I shake my head. « It’s too late Magna. There’s nothing more we can do for him. All we can do is avenge his death and capture those bastards. » His jaw is contracting, and I can hear him grinding his teeth. He turns to the group of magi and their leader, out of it. "Is it you?!"

The chief, a relatively tall man, has a scar along his face. His eyes and short hair are pearl grey and even his facial expression is frigid. I dream of burning it to the bone but Magna wants it much more, it will also train him.

"How could you ruin my beautiful program? In three seconds... Everyone will die." He predicts, dryly.

My little prick, even if the youngsters don’t manage to give you a monumental beating, I’m here to support them. I crack my knuckles one by one, placing myself in front of the villagers. The criminal summons a huge projectile of ice and throws it at us. Magna freezes, a smile forced to the lips, when Asta throws himself on the spell and breaks it with a sword, screaming at full lungs.

"IT’S ENOUGH!" Asta came out of his hinges. "Why such horrors? Who the hell are you?" The criminal remains indifferent. His minions responded in his place. “We were not informed that knights-mages would intervene....” Start one. «The Black Bulls... Heretical rustres who have nothing to do with the other knights, huh?» Insults the second one.

Asta and Magna are bubbling, the call of battle is felt. Noelle, with me in the back. The leader of the criminals looks at his pocket watch and finally makes himself heard.

« Five minutes. These peasants do not understand anything. We will eliminate them quickly... And look for what we came for! »

_It doesn’t bode well. I have a bad feeling about it._

"DON’T IGNORE ME!!" Growls Asta, while charging the criminal. The man finally realizes the latent power that Asta has in stock and his superhuman potential. But what the criminal then does is close to suicide, he starts to speak monstrosities about the poor and commoners. That these villagers are pathetic animals without magic, that they are losers, that they should not live. Asta decomposes on the spot, fulminating little by little, the eyes charged with a desire for impartial justice.

"These people... I must protect them!!" It is a cry from the heart of Asta. An unshakeable resolution.

Man invokes with one hand a new salvo of icy stakes, and in an equally sinister voice, says. "I see, you have esteem for these losers." He is supported by his minions, who infuse their own magic into a combined attack.  
«Magic Compound, Ice and Mist: Endless Ice Cage» Asta and Magna make attacks at the risk of their lives, the situation is critical. They bend as and when faced with the spells bombed on us, Noelle feels powerless. A little girl grabs us by the sleeve, looks at us and implores Noelle, in tears. "Miss Knight... Please save us..."

I smile inwardly. This is the click our little princess needed. His grimoire agitates itself, a new page is written, gaining power thanks to this new spell.

A flash goes through my head, I fall to my knees.

_Is that a vision?_

I see the events that follow before they even happen. The pain disappears, I look at Noelle, with a mysterious smile.

She kneels down and invokes her new spell, a dome forms around the villagers and ourselves.

«Creative Water Magic: Dragon’s Den!» In a roar, waterspouts, similar to this morning, unite and finish the dome that was forming. The young woman gets up, a new confidence painted on her face. « I am of royal blood and I belong to the Black Bulls! I will watch over the people of this land! »

_I am so proud of this little duckling! She will become a beautiful swan!_

"That’s what we want, Noelle! I’ll let you handle the defense, let me take care of the villagers as much as possible." I tell the teenager, starting to heal the children with my fire magic. Their wounds are superficial, but I can’t let them get infected. My fire magic allows to cauterize the wounds and sterilize them at the same time, without burning. The little ones look at me, amazed at the violet and gold flames dancing around them and licking their wounds. Some flames purposely take on the appearance of adorable little animals to reassure and distract them from this dreadful scene.

I treat them by group, it does not take more energy and it is much faster.

«I have no magic but I will still make you fall!» Promise Asta to the criminal. I bet the fight is finally over.

_No, not yet, nope._

"LORD HEATH!" Stutters one of the bastards who accompanies the master of the bastards, named Heath. I look behind me and see that he was pierced by the end of Asta's claymore. Everything goes together. Heath counterattack, Asta is cornered, Magna replies like a forceful and is saved in extremis by Noelle’s protection spell. While Asta dodges and guards the icy stakes, zigzagging towards his enemy, he throws a final blow that really closes the fight. Heath falls to the ground, mastered by Magna who imprisons all terrorists with his fire magic, like an inviolable straitjacket. Unfortunately, one of them escapes thanks to a water magic.

"Did you see it?" Asta shouted, proud of his victory, with his arms in the air. I startled when I saw him collapse, exhausted and asleep.

A small black bird, like those of the Colosseum, lands on Asta, smashing its skull with its beak. Besides, there’s a rock in its beak

_That stone.... That’s what they were looking for. I don’t like that at all._

This bird is not normal. It looks like... a sealed human. I scan the bird and it is indeed a human sealed in this appearance, by an ancient spell.. I will discuss with this human later. I have a bad feeling about this and I need to check it out.

It's confirmed when Heath giggles softly, his expression is the one I may have had in my other lives. Someone who has nothing left to lose, and prefers to commit suicide.

«Ice magic: the tomb» And on this spell, ice cones come out of the body of the group of enemies, killing them clean. Their grimoires are crumbling.

Asta contains his rage at this injustice, tears threaten to flow. I finish treating the villagers and I go to Asta to give him first aid. « You did everything you could, kid. This son of a bitch committed suicide because he probably has too much to lose by being captured. We’ll get that straight. » I try to reassure him, and miraculously, it works. He sniffs loudly before getting his act together.

After taking care of my comrades, the villagers are busy around us, and we met at nightfall at the cemetery to pray one last time to the village chief, who was an acquaintance of Magna. It is moving to see Asta support the grandson by promising to wait for him at the Knights-Magi, that he too could pass the exams hands down. Hope returning to the little one warms my heart.

_I want to protect this world too. Protect these kids._

* * *

And after that mission, we went back to the Den.

“You guys really messed up there! Anyway, I’m proud of you!” Congratulates Yami, a big smile on his face. "YES, sir!" replied Asta, still a yeller.

"The Wizard King awards us a star! Now we have exactly 30 negative stars!" My jaw is dislocated in the face of such a pathetic score. It is dislocated even more when Yami gives us all a clinking Yuls purse.

"And here’s the pay of the month!"

Asta convulses almost by taking the coins out of his purse, he never had to have so many at a time in his life. « WHOAAAH!! MONEY!! With this I have enough to buy 2,000 Hage potatoes!» I’m weighing the purse, heavy despite appearances. Actually, I don’t need that money, I would trust my father to live here longer than I do. I’ll just have a little fun once in a while, but that’s it.

«Now that you have some money, tomorrow we will go shopping in town! I will accompany you since I have nothing planned!» We have Vanessa. It looks like the opportunity is tomorrow. I like it. The witch knows the area more than I do, I’ll let myself be guided.

Purse in hand, I'm about to go home when Vanessa calls me, a bottle in my hand. « Yuuuuukiiiii! Wouldn’t you like to stay and have a drink with me? Would you?" She’s giving me the willies, unfortunately for her, I have a lot of work to do tonight.

"Sorry, Vanessa, I’m busy tonight, but maybe next time!" I apologize, and without giving her time to answer, I teleport home.

* * *

_A lonely night at home._

My dad still hasn’t come home from Heart, he’s been on a mission there for a week. I would have talked with him but my psychoanalysis will wait. I climb the stairs to go in the bathroom, relax in a good bath. I open the hot water tap, add a few drops of lavender oil, perfect for relaxation. By the time the water fills the tub, I go into the bedroom and materialize on the wall behind my computer a cork painting, then a Clover card, realized thanks to the reconnaissance spell launched after obtaining my Grimoire. There is certainly at least one Underworld portal in this Kingdom, I must comb it to find it and contact James or Eros on Earth. Damien is _closest to me_ but he is not able to go to those realms, given his angelic genetic heritage. The only option remains the Gods. Lucifer included, since he is the master of the place.  
The card drawn up, I go back to the bathroom, undress, leaving the clothes on the floor and I enter the water deliciously hot, as I like it. I sigh of happiness, feeling my muscles soften and relax little by little. My arms are placed along the tub, on the edge. My legs are a little too big for the tub, but I’m not going to complain because of my 5'4, for once I’m flattered by my size. I let my mind calm down and wander, the fragrance of lavender fills my lungs. I love this smell so much, it reminds me of home, the Provence, happy days.

I close my eyes, breathe in, breathe out. My senses are sharpening, I go deeper into the tub, the water reaches my shoulders and the bottom of my neck. The water is an excellent magical conductor, in addition to being the favorite element of Papa Poseidon. If I’m gonna find that portal, I’m gonna have to investigate in peace and safety.

The lapping of water related to my movements is the only sound resonating in the house. I hear in the distance the birds chirping, the sound of the wind in the branches, the grass rippling. I hear the sounds of the city in the distance. I extend my hearing as much as possible, without success. A Portal would have made a sinister sound of muffled drums, like a heart fluttering slowly, with this impression of imminent death in addition. Now, I don’t hear anything like that. That doesn’t mean there’s no Portal, there has to be one, just that it’s inactive. I’ll focus on the aura, the mana, the magic print. I have felt it before – having already made trips back and forth for _various reasons_ in my past lives – it will be more convenient, not necessarily simpler, though.

I totally immerse myself in the water, holding my breath. Sea, river, or running water, it passes. Flavoured or enriched water, my lungs wouldn’t like that. I have two minutes in front of me before I start suffocating.

_**2Min00** _

I open one by one my chakras, starting from the root chakra or Muladhara, linked to the earth element. To synchronize it is to synchronize me with the whole earth of the Kingdom, the time of my immersion. I move on to Svadhishthana, the sacred chakra linked to the element of water. It is placed at the level of the intimate parts, I am always a little reluctant to synchronize it but I have no choice. The energy resonates between my first two chakras and I know I must not waste time.

_**1Min30** _

The Manipura and the Anahata, third and fourth chakras, are the simplest to open, representing respectively the solar plexus and the heart, the astral journeys and love, fire and air. My soul is used to astral journeys, and even though I have a monumental jinx in love, that’s what, in part, made me cursed.

_**1Min20** _

Vishuddah. The chakra of the throat. Ether, the celestial space. I lose a fraction of a second of my concentration thinking about Aether, which I always cross in a similar space. I store my energy in this chakra, gradually piercing the glass ceiling of my meditation, and in a stroke I synchronize my last two chakras, the Ajna of the third eye and the Sahasrara of the cosmos.

_**50 s** _

My body is totally synchronized, the energy flows without barriers, it will certainly cost me health but I must carry out my expertise. Everything appears to me like a sonar map, only the reliefs and magic zones or with high magic density appear. I look north. Nothing.

_**40 s** _

The East contains a powerful area of magic, but that’s not what I’m looking for... It looks more like the ancient temples on Earth, full of mysteries. Fuck, I’m running out of time!

_**20 s** _

The west could be a good track if it wasn’t bordered by Heart. I hope the south is the right destination.

_**10 s** _

My lungs are sore, the need to breathe is pressing. But I have to check the south! It looks like a port area. The sea, the beach, the coast. And...

_**0 s** _

I suddenly get my head out of the water, struggling to breathe to the fullest. I pant hard, stunned by the lack of air and the broken meditation. I sit back in my bath, leaning my bust against my folded legs. I am waiting for my pulse to return to a calmer rhythm, this fear of drowning did not disappear during my "divinization". I didn’t know how to swim until I was 25.

I carry my hand around my neck, taking my pulse. A few seconds pass, my heart is calm again. But I feel emptied of my energy. I carefully get out of the tub, removing the cap. I dry, take my laundry to my room and search my closet for clean pajamas. A black T-shirt way too big and a blue mini-shorts. I get dressed and install myself on my computer. I press the power button and it turns on.

_Dad, when you get home, explain this miracle to me._

I enter my high school password and open a Word file. I need to transcribe everything, whether it’s for me or for my father. I quickly type on my keyboard the fruit of my perilous research.

_Tuesday, September 3 – unknown year – earth year 2019_

_Search for a Portal, aquatic meditation._

_Results:_

_North – neutral zone, nothing to report._

_East – tomb, sanctuary or temple detected, no demonic or divine energy present._

_West – high mana density, no demonic or divine energy present. Close to the Heart Kingdom._

_South – Low presence of higher energies on the south-east coast. INVESTIGATE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!!!_

_Nota Bene: Probably the only Portal of the Kingdom. Secure it in case of confirmation of the nature of the energy source. Chronos could find a way to cross it by force._

I stop playing on the keyboard when a familiar presence is felt behind me. I turn around, swivelling with my chair and smiling, reassured.

"Cariña, what are you doing to this poor keyboard?" My father’s deep voice echoes in the room, reviving this house with his warmth. He approaches me and looks at the screen. His eyes pass over each sentence, reading carefully, then refer to me. « You haven’t wasted any time on what I see. When are you going to go? »

I stretch out on my chair, my grandmother’s hip does its usual "bum" again. I smile when I hear that little noise and then I go back to my sheep. « I’ll go as soon as I can, I’ll talk to Yami, of course, if it interferes with my work I’d rather he know about it than hang me at the entrance of the Den. » My father laughs, then sits on the edge of my bed. « I knew you’d join Yami’s squad, it really suits your character. »

I turn to him, falsely offended. "Are you insinuating that I am unmanageable, soulful, violent, alcoholic and a smoker? You have EVERYTHING RIGHT!" I burst out laughing for a moment, restlessness quickly reappears. He feels my mood change. « You chose the best squad to support you. The most underrated, certainly, but the most competent. You are well surrounded, cariña. »

I lean on the armrest, my fist serves as a headrest. «Papa, I chose the Black Bull because they are understanding. Not for them to help me. You always said help you and heaven will help you, I’ll help myself as much as I can. And if I die, it won’t do any more to their company. If I had been in a royal squad, I would have had to account for every action . »  
  
I realize that I was a little violent in my remarks. Dad’s features harden, a mixture of sadness and anger is painted in his eyes. I’m about to apologize but he cuts me. « The people you meet, the people you’re with, are people you’ve bonded with, voluntarily or not. You enter their life and change it, imperceptibly or drastically. There will be a time when you will be accountable to them and I wish you to be honest with these people. Whether it’s the Black Bull, myself or... Julius. »  
  
A nervous jolt pierces me when he pronounces the name of the Wizard King. My father notices it and continues his rebuke. « You may keep your distance from the people of this world, but like them, you are human and have feelings. Your divine ancestry is what rots your life, so live as humanly as possible. Don’t suppress your emotions like I did, that’s what killed me on Earth, with my cancer. » This last sentence acts as a stab in my soul, he is right and I can't contradict him. I can only explain my actions.

"Dad... You’re absolutely right. But what if I fail? If I can’t defeat Chronos? If I die before I find a solution? If you die because of me? If... if Julius dies because of me? All these emotions and fears, I prefer to take them on my shoulders as long as they are still solid. I don’t want people to get attached to me and then suffer because of me. I know it’s life that way, that you’re born, live, love, suffer, and die, but it’s hard to accept." Tears slowly flow down my cheeks, I didn’t even notice that I got to this state of physical and mental fatigue. Dad gets up and hugs tightly « Trust us at least. You are not alone, you are in a world where everything is possible. Trust those who sent you here."

_You’re right, Dad. You’ve always been right._

We stay for a few minutes while I calm down, I find my composure and my thorny question. Always in his arms, I ask my dad.

"You still haven’t explained to me how your house is so modern and without electrical connections..."

His chest is lifted by his laughter and shakes my head. I detach myself from my father and look at him, frustrated that he mocks me.

"It was a certain Primordial God named Aether who helped me a little five years ago, and he thought that welcoming you into a familiar environment would help you breathe a little and put it into perspective." My mouth forms a perfect O throughout its explanation. Aether, you little bastard... Since when do you look after us exactly?

Dad’s making us dinner and I’m gonna ask him how his mission went. He tells me that he met the Queen of the Heart Kingdom, Lolopechka, and talked to her about various topics, including training in various healing techniques that could be beneficial to the Clover Kingdom, and to me. He also tells me that there is no Portal in their kingdom, the omniscient power of the Queen would have warned her from the start if there had been one. And told me that there were some difficult matters to settle, but for now, I don’t have to worry about it. I yell at him about the fact that he hasn’t contacted me once on my cellphone since he left, to which he replied that the network created by Aether does not work outside Clover, but that in an emergency I could have contacted Julius.

_Contact Julius? He has a phone? HUH?_

Papa laughs, explaining to me that when he had his own, Julius took on a passion for small technology and insisted on having one, which he hides from the rest of the Kingdom so as not to create more world order worries. Which is totally understandable. From time to time, they send each other messages, which leads to taking the aperitif together as the day when Julius offered to accompany me to get my Grimoire. This explains that.

We eat the meal on the terrace, in the moonlight, then after getting rid of it and helping with the dishes, I wish my father a good night, reassured that he is back. I go back to my room, head thrown first on my pillow, to bed.

I summon my phone, look at the photos already taken. There is my mother, my best friend Erika, my dear Justine who despite my change during the year from simple human to human ++ totally accepted me. This end-of-year photo taken during an alcoholic party is just unforgettable, unlike this evening that I partially forgot. And this picture with James and Damien, me in the middle. We’re all smiling. This picture was taken a few days before the Chronos's attack. A smile can hide a lot of things.

It is by looking at the photos that I find sleep, heavy heart.


	10. Chronos' desire and Yuki's anger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It took me a long time to do this chapter for several narrative reasons. But I got there. Thanks again for following my fanfiction!

_**Narrator's POV**_  
  
The moon was at its peak, its rays diffuse in the starry sky of Clover. José contemplated the garden from the terrace, his dark eyes were lost in the void, his flow of thought intensifying every second.

As a father, he had never wished that his daughter would go through so many trials in her life but as a mystic he knew full well that everything was happening for a specific reason and that he could only guide her offspring, no matter how far she went. And there she had chosen the path of loneliness. The same path she chose in each of her lives. And it was very upsetting.

All night long, after his daughter went to bed, he wondered if her words had reached her. If she had finally realized that the game could change, if she would be honest with herself, her colleagues and especially Julius. It certainly was the case. He knew his daughter’s temper.

She was stubborn, cunning, independent and above all _terrified of death_ , that was her character in this life. She would do things according to her own feelings and get away with it, breaking the cycle of forced reincarnations and finally living her life as an adult woman.

However, a doubt remained in José. He had seen in dream, thanks to Aether, images of his daughter during the five years that followed his death. He had witnessed what despair could do in that little piece of woman. She didn’t have her powers yet, but it was still scary.

Now that she had her powers, it could be even worse, especially since they were the reason for her programmed death.

Self-destruction, debauchery, isolation, violence.

A god is comparable to a human who systematically gives in to his adverse impulses and emotions, self-destruction is easy and painful.

His daughter is a special case but remains of divine lineage, Aether breathed to him during the vision that in his previous lives, Yuki handled crisis situations in such a... Particular way. José knew no more but the tone that Aether had used had left him an unpleasant sensation deep inside his being.

No. He wasn’t supposed to think negatively. If her daughter was not inclined to positivity, he would be in her place, as she did with her mother after managing her grief.

José walked barefoot in the garden, evacuating the overflow of negative energies circulating in his body and mind in contact with the earth and fresh grass. He walked along the wooden bridge and stopped when he saw a familiar figure close to the swing. He soon recognized the person who was waiting for him.

"Aether. It was a long time ago," José said, crossing the rest of the garden to greet his old friend. They shook hands warmly.

"Time is relative to me, I am a Primordial God, after all." Replied the interested, his distorted voice sounding softly through his mask. José glanced at the window of his daughter’s room, nervous.

"She's sleeping like a log, I checked before coming to see you." Reassured the strange god.

José turned his attention to Aether. "She found a place that could potentially house a sealed Portal, but you must already know that."

Aether laughs, scratching his temple by passing his forefinger under his hood and mask.

"Indeed. I have sealed this portal myself, our little goddess will have to ask for the necessary help to access the Underworld if she cares so much."

José had a smile on his face. "You’re mean when you get into it, you’re going to look like the Olympians if you keep going down that road."

Aether leaned back against the swing, arms crossed. A long sigh escaped from him.

"I have already experienced these events, the only difference is that now I have the opportunity to change things. Your daughter is as stubborn as a mule, I’m just rushing things in the direction I want. But too much interfering in the course of time now might change the story I already know."

José noticed the fatigue of the god and his gloom.

"Did the little girl understand who you are or not yet?"

Aether rose up, stretching his arms to the sky.

"No, and that’s no worse. She would kill me on the spot if she found out who I am, it’s too early for her to also understand hers and what this war of souls really involves." His voice became melancholic, pained.  
  
"But she will soon understand it if she tries to unlock the Portal first." Observed the Spanish, scratching her goat, thoughtful. Aether took a few steps towards the river.

"I know you can handle it José, your daughter will listen to you no matter what you say to her. I just came to warn you about the Portal, the rest is up to you." And Aether disappeared as mysteriously as he had arrived.

* * *

_**Chronos’s POV** _

  
  
Yuki’s sleep was far from repairing. Her anguish from her subconscious was rising to the surface and she was agitating in her bed.

And Chronos knew this. Even though he was once again sealed in Tartarus, he retained a special bond with his prey. He felt his fear. He felt his doubts. He enjoyed all his negative emotions.

Yuki’s powers, though immeasurable, were far from under her control and it was in her sleep that she was most vulnerable. And that, Chronos knew. He, however, could use some of his powers, even from a different world.

He took advantage of her weaknesses to interfere in her dreams.

Like Aether, he created a space out of time and dimensions in his image. Dark, cold, sinister. There he attracted Yuki’s astral body and waited for her spiritual awakening, lurking in the darkness.

He wanted to, no. He wants to pervert her. Torture her. Make her his. Destroy her. His gut dictated it, adding even more unhealthy desire to his millennium goal.

A god who resurrects is subject to his impulses of life and death and can only satisfy them in two substantially similar ways. Unite with one or more people, or kill one or more people. In both cases, life and death intermingle in a powerful primal impulse.

Titans do not escape this rule.

Chronos was going to satisfy this impulse by torturing her in this space.

* * *

_**Yuki’s POV** _

_Did Aether summon me?_

_No._

_This place looks nothing like the place where he usually summons me._

_Everything is dark and cold._

_This feeling of destruction that invades me..._

_No._

_That is not possible._

_An unhealthy laugh buzzes in my ears, I try to plug them to get rid of it but I can’t do it._

_My arm shivers when a touch is made against the skin, leaving a poisonous bluish trace. I stiffen myself, mortified._

_"Show yourself, Chronos." I command, the rage is slowly rising in me._

_His laughter stops, followed by a thumping roar rising crescendo._

_His shadow sneaks behind me, disappearing when I turn to confront him._

_"I don’t have time to play cat and mouse with you. What do you want from me?"_

_He says nothing, his shadow moving faster and faster around me. I try to follow her with my eyes but she goes into my blind spot._

_I turn once more and startle._

_His icy blue eyes overhang me and trap my heart like a vise in the biting cold. My breathing gets jerky, the stress goes up._

_I have to stay strong._

_He approaches his finger with a diaphanous complexion near my chin and slides it underneath, maintaining visual contact. He leans towards me, his long white locks caressing my face._

_The hatred present in my being cries to me to run away as quickly as possible but his eyes prevent me from moving. I feel the lips of Chronos touch mine then stop, slightly back to better observe me. A rictus is drawn on his face, disfiguring his features. A wave of disgust crosses me, he noticed, his malevolent expression more unhealthy than ever._

_He moves his infamous mouth to my ear and what he says freezes my blood._

_"Tic, toc... Tic, toc... Tic... Toc. I will soon be there for you, my sublime queen. I will give you one last chance."_

_I shouldn’t be provocative, but it’s stronger than me._

_"What else? Are you going to kill me one more time?" I tell him with a laugh that I never had in this life. A laugh full of hatred, weariness, fatality. The laugh of a cursed goddess._

_He imprisons me in his arms, sticking his bust against mine, his tone becomes threatening._

_"Otherwise, I would kill all your loved ones, in both worlds. Your parents, your friends, your divine family... But above all... this usurper of Novachrono."_

_My eyes revolt, my body stiffens once more, my breath stops for a moment. I see red._

_He giggles._

_"Tell me, what part of my sentence made you angry? The one where I kill your parents? Hmm... Let me guess. The one where I kill Novachrono?"_

_I try to free myself from its grip by wiggling in all directions, in vain. Its vice tightens, its frigid breath slides to my other ear._

_"Hmm... Don’t worry, I would take great care of him. His powers are of no use to me. I am the only Chronos. The original. He is a pale copy. And I will break it, if you do not join me."_

_I try to yell at him, to break his eardrums, but my cry is jammed in my throat. I feel my chest tightening harder and harder. I have to wake up as soon as possible._

_"I will show him what the power of temporal magic really is. I will subdue him. I will steal his mana and his time. I will distil despair in his veins and madness in his soul, and I will break him. I will inject him with my own time, and he will become my perfect little soldier. The little conscience that will remain at that moment will be awakened, but his actions will be mine. He will obey me and once I am done with him, I will take great pleasure in torturing him physically, treating him, making him bleed again and again..."_

_He leaves a kiss on my lips._

**_I feel so nauseous._ **

_"And you will witness this endless scene."_

_He leaves another kiss on my lips._

**_He’s gonna regret it._ **

_"And there’s nothing you can do."_

_He leaves another kiss on my lips._

**_He doesn’t know who he ran into._ **

_"I’ll take you in front of him, he won’t be able to do anything."_

_He lays another kiss on my lips. He is satisfied._

**_He shouldn’t provoke me like that._ **

_"And once I’m done with you two... I’ll kill him."_

_He lays another kiss on my lips. He releases for a moment the pressure around me._

_In a flash, I release my arm and plunge my fist into his ribcage in a bloodshed, my hand digging inside him, finding his heart. I hug it with all my strength and rip it out of Chronos. I step back, the muscle pulsating in my dominant hand. My mind is dominated by the visceral desire to kill him. My eyes burn me and when I carry them on Chronos, his laughter is replaced by terror._

_**It’s my turn to laugh.** _

_  
  
My entire astral body regains its full capacity, I burst with the same laughter as Chronos. My nails plunge into his heart, he writhes with pain. My magical aura strengthens and the features of Chronos distort even more._

_"You know what it will be like if you try anything against my loved ones or these two worlds. Neither of us can die in this space... But I am no longer the same Rhea-Tayet you knew. When you come for me, I will wait for you. Never, oh... You will never get your hands on my loved ones." My threat is heavy with meaning, my own voice makes me shiver._

_And a light pierces this evil place. A bright, warm, reassuring light. A figure is cut out of this light that spreads over us, my hand looses by itself the vicious heart of Chronos._

_Aether._

_I’m finally gonna wake up._

* * *

_**161** _

Nine days have passed since that night when I was fantastically bullied by Chronos.

When I woke up, I was bubbling with such rage that my magic was exacerbated, amplified, and painful. I could not evacuate it naturally and I suffered the martyrdom. I still went to the Den for the shopping day, hoping it would change my mind but Yami had decided otherwise.

His ability to read the ki of other living beings allowed him to detect my imminent implosion and he took me to a mystery member of the Black Bull and owner of the place, Henri Legolant. His magic, Recombination Magic, reconfigured at his will the architecture of the Den, the only place he has known all his life in view of his particular curse. He could not leave the place, his physical condition too weak and he survived thanks to the mana emanating from the members of the Black Bull.

Yami had therefore simply concluded that the only being able to relieve me of my mana was Henri.

So we both spent the afternoon together to get to know each other, my mana sucked by this adorable and lonely young man. The others did not know that he existed, which I found very difficult, but Henri lived with it. His curse was too strong for a normal knight and he quickly understood that I was different, Henri was happy to have a new friend.

Asta joined us later in the afternoon a little by chance and he also met Henri and not having any magic, Asta was not affected by the curse. Two new friends in one day for this tall, 6'2 ft guy with an infinite white mane. We chatted together for an hour, then we went back to our business. Before leaving, Henri said to me quite simply and slowly because of his condition "Let’s help us Yuki!". I accepted without reservation, our two curses being able to cancel each other.

When I came home, my father understood that something had happened, but I didn’t tell him anything. I didn't feel ready to talk to him about Chronos' nocturnal visit or the change that was slowly taking place in me, tipping me over to the divine and dark side of my soul.

The next day, Asta, Noelle and Luck were sent east of Clover, on the border of Diamond, to a newly emerged dungeon that proved to be the source of energy that I had felt during my aquatic investigation. I was not sent there, the mission order emanating directly from the Wizard King for these three teenagers in particular.  
  
I was assigned to patrols all over Clover, arrested bandits here and there, watched for every possible sign of the Portal through nature without resorting to meditation that would have been too risky given my recent peak of magic. But nothing more than this low, higher energy, already spotted.

My days were structured into a well-oiled routine. Patrols, rumbles, Den, an hour with Henri, home.

Until Asta, Noelle and Luck return from the mission, Asta is completely worn out and exhausted. To my tasks was added the training of the young people in hand-to-hand combat and the surveillance of Asta who did not wake up since his return. Nothing to worry about, his body just being drained of his energy and his mind needing to recover.

**_Thursday 12 September, 8 am_ **

Today I’m at the Den. Asta is on the war footing, in the refectory, devouring all that Charmy’s sheep cooks bring him. Magna and Charmy are with him and offer me breakfast. My stomach growls at the moment, I gladly settle down and grab the skewers nearby.

Charmy is happy watching us flout without restraint.

"You know how to eat, La!" And she cheerfully claps Asta’s shoulder as encouragement.

The smell of tanned leather and opium that has just appeared warns me in advance of the arrival of Yami, who stands before us.

"Hey, you finaly woke up, kid? You did a good job, even though you came home in droves!" He congratulated, nonchalant.

"Hi sir!" replied Asta, with his mouth full.

"You can walk, can’t you? Then join the HQ of the Magic Knights, they want a report."

"Eh?!" The young blond ash chokes, surprised.

"The HQ of the Magic Knights?!" Said Luck, attracted by the conversation.

Yami stops him from goal to goal. "You messed up again, Luck, so you’re not invited. Instead, we have a combat mission for you. You’ll go with Magna."

The eyes of the electric mage light up.

"A mission! Let’s join forces and do our best, Magna!"

"Huuuuh? Too suspicious, are you really Luck?! Are you sure you’re not Grey?" Questions the interested party, panicked.

"I will! I will!" exclaims Charmy

"Uh no. Why would you go there? You just eat all day." Yami answers, breaking the hopes of the gourmet, who leaves the place, hopping.

Yami turns to me, finishing his cigarette. I drink the content of my cup, my meal finished.

"You will accompany Asta and Noelle to the HQ, the Wizard also wishes to speak with you."

I’m frowning at him.

"Do you have any idea why?"

"Nope, nobody knows what’s going on in his head anyway. This old man is unpredictable." Yami laughs for a moment and takes out a new cigarette. "After your conversation, it will be time to have ours. It’s not been a month, but you’ve been creepy lately."

I grin and nod. Another long day ahead.

* * *

_**11am** _

The three of us arrived in Castle Town. Asta is like a child who discovers the world, running in all directions in this big city. Noelle tries to contain him, without success. There is before us a trio of Golden Dawn and I recognize Yuno. A young woman – still a teenager – with wavy red hair and a young man with silver hair and eyeglasses, accompany her. Asta rushes towards them and starts the discussion.

It seems that they teamed up when the dungeon was taken and I discovered the identity of the two young people of the Golden Dawn thanks to Noelle. Mimosa Vermillion and Klaus Lunette.

_Shit, last names are clichés, though._

Despite his severe air, Klaus rushes to Asta, relieved that he is better. Mimosa, she, blushes like a tomato facing Asta. She runs away a few seconds later, heeled by Noelle. I join the boys and I feel Klaus staring at me. He seems uncomfortable.

"My name is Yuki Bellafotia, _enchantée_ young man." I reach out to him and he clumsily grabs my hand back.

"Bellafotia? Are you José’s daughter? Seriously?" he exclaims, incredulous.

"That’s right, that’s my father. Is he that famous?" I’m giggling.

"He is a great healer, of course he is known! Uh... Why do they whine?" Ask Klaus, in front of the girls who realized the nascent rivalry for Asta.

"Business of girls, do not venture into it if you do not want to lose feathers." I warn him on the tone of humor.

Together we resume our journey to the HQ when I am caught with pleasant shivers along the spine.

_We arrived and were well welcomed._

"Hello, you! Come on, young people!" Sound a silky and warm voice.

My heart is accelerating. Shit. I’m too old for this hormonal crap.

I turn to the voice and see Julius at the entrance of the HQ, on the stairs. He is impressive and I am not the only one of this opinion. All eyes are on Wizard King, including mine. His smile grows imperceptibly when he sees me and I find it extremely difficult not to blush like a teenager who has not seen her crush in two days. This is more like ten days.

Klaus kneels down right now.

"Who is this creep?" Naively asks Asta.

"What a fool!!! You stand before our present Wizard King, Lord Julius Novachrono!"

_Lord. Wow, that’s sexy. Are you done taunting me, ladies my hormones?_

"WHAAAAAT?" Howls Asta, brain dead.

After Asta has recovered his means, we follow Julius in silence and climb to the top of a tower. There, the young people do their debriefing about the dungeon and Yuno tends to Julius his Grimoire. He takes it and observes it for a few minutes.

The way his face changes seeing new magic is really spectacular and... adorable. This man will be my loss. It’s fair game, it almost makes me forget Chrono's threat.

"Well done! Glad you found this! This spell was without a doubt the most important relic of the dungeon!" He congratulates, admiring.

"Sir, can you decipher it?" Ask Yuno, curious.

Julius scans the Grimoire one last time, smiling at the corner. "To a certain extent, yes!"

And the Wizard King begins to quiver on the spot.

"Say... can you cast this spell for me? Please?" Claim the tall blond, starry eyes.

"I’m sorry... I managed to activate it when we were there, I guess, but... I’ve been unable to reproduce it ever since." Apologizes flatly Yuno, confused.

"WHAT?! Well, I see... What a pity." Julius is shot.

Unconsciously and under the influence of my emotions, I switch to Egyptian mode.

_هذا البراءة على وجهه ، كيف لا تريد حمايته والاعتزاز به؟_

_"This innocence on his face, how can I not want to protect him and cherish him?"_

Incredulous looks stare at me and I turn my head away, whistling as if nothing had happened. Julius laughs. I smile discreetly, happy that I did not speak in Greek for such an embarrassing thought. He smiles at me and shifts his attention to the Grimoire in his hands, his now mysterious smile.

"All I can say for now is that this spell will evolve with you and one day it will bring out great power. Take care of it." And he returns to Yuno his grimoire. Asta takes the opportunity to attack him with his own.

"WIZARD KING!! There is also something strange that is inscribed on my grimoire!"

Julius leans over, eyes wide open. " It’s...!" and turns around, pretending ignorance.

"Totally unreadable. I’ve never seen that kind of language."

_It’s not nice to lie. I mean... I’m not in a position to say that._

Asta goes through his grimoire. "And this thing comes out!" He shoots a new claymore.

"Wow! A second anti-magic sword!" marvels Julius.

Asta taunts Yuno, proud of him.

"The ability of anti-magic... Can I touch it?" Julius’s curiosity is too strong.

"Please!" And Asta kneels before the Wizard King, holding out his new sword. Julius takes it by the guard and...

BOOM!

"Wow! It's heavy!" He is carried away by the weight of the sword.

I control myself so I don’t die laughing, the tear in my eye and the red painting all my face because of my apnea.

"It’s very impressive that you can handle it..." He recovers, admiring.

Julius’s expression changes drastically, his eyes fixed on the sword. His mouth opens a few seconds, surprised. I scan him, not very reassured.

His magic is gradually sucked by Asta's sword but nothing dangerous at this point.

"I see," he said, a mysterious new smile on his lips. My stomach goes around on itself, he is a fan of that smile.

Julius hands the sword to Asta.

"Thank you. I can’t hold it unfortunately. This sword... You can carry it because precisely, you have no magic." He explains to the little blond ash.

"How do you know I have no power?! And let my sword slice the magic?!" Asks Asta, going straight to the point.

"How do I know?" Julius eludes, smiling.

  
  
_Because you’re the Wizard King and you certainly have eyes everywhere?_

"It doesn’t matter, it’s very good work! Perfect!"

Asta, all embarrassed, asks his thorny question.

"How do we do..."

Joined by Yuno, and in choir they finish. "To become the Wizard King?"

The question has the merit of destabilising for a moment the current Wizard King and he bursts with a benevolent laugh.

"All right! You two are dreaming of it, aren’t you? Every mage should have that ambition!"

Klaus, so far silent, loses his temper in two seconds. "It is rude to question the Wizard King like this! Listen. The Wizard King must have a noble spirit and the confidence of the people and..."

"No. All is deserved." Rectifies Julius, the most seriously in the world.

His amethyst eyes burn with a determination I have rarely seen on Earth.

"Dignity alone is not enough to protect the people. And trust comes to a solid reputation. People... Ask only one thing of the Wizard King. Results. This shows that you are the strongest. Produce results. The one who cannot do such a thing cannot stand at the top."

We are all frozen by Julius’s speech. Even though I have only known this world for a short time, I understand the meaning and the weight of his words. It's enough to see Julius to understand that the path to the throne is long and tedious, this man releases so much power, charisma and wisdom and at the same time so much purity and light that to equal or surpass him it seems to me almost impossible.

_But am I really objective in thinking that?_

Asta and Yuno are as if they are fully motivated by the words of Julius and, always synchronized, respond to him. "We will get there!"

Julius loses himself for a short moment in his thoughts, smiling in the corner. I would like to read his mind but I forbid myself, even if I have the power. From now on, he’s the only person whose thoughts I would never read.

"Well, to tell you the truth, today we are doing a ceremony of decoration in honor of the Magic Knights who have accumulated a large number of stars. I hope you attend! That’s actually the reason for this meeting." Julius lights up saying that.

And we, little Magic Knights, we look at each other, caught off guard, while we follow the Wizard King through stairs, corridors, floors. Noelle is more and more anxious. I take her hand, she startles but relaxes when I speak to her telepathically.

_"What’s going on, princess? You’re livid."_

"What..?"

_"Just think your sentence. I’m talking to you telepathically, physical contact creates a direct channel that nobody can intercept. Plus, I can use my magic to calm your anxiety."_

She looks at me, grateful.

_"Oh... thank you."_

_"Do you want to talk about it?"_

_"It’s just... there will be my brothers and my sister... I don’t want to see them. They’ll start over"_

_"Start over? What? Don’t tell me they’re harassing you?"_

_"In a way..."_

_"Don’t worry. The first one to fuck with you, I’ll break his nose with my brute strength."_ and I give her my best smile, a wink and a thumb up. I say, " _Whatever happens, if you want to talk to me quietly, just pull me by the arm and we’ll talk like that, okay?"_

_"All right."_

I let go of her hand. We are in front of a huge open door.

"So..." Julius speaks. The doors open.

"Do you think... Can you surpass them?" Challenges the young, gauging them with his best profile.

We entered, welcomed by the Knights Mages present, in two separate rows.

The way they look, I feel like this ceremony is gonna be rock'n'roll.


	11. Banquet and Battle

"Well, now, let the awards ceremony begin!" solemnly declares Julius, presiding over the assembly behind the altar.

The silence in this immense cathedral-like room is heavy. It’s really impressive to watch, especially since the entrance. The ten knights present are stiff as pickets and my little comrades are as stiff but for other reasons.

I hide a yawn, this kind of ceremony has the chic to bore me deathly and this regardless of my incarnation. I understand the interest, but it’s not for me. I startle when I think I see the amused look of Julius landing a fraction of a second on me. He clears his throat.  
  
"With seven stars, Leopold Vermillion of the Crimson Lions!! I raise you to the rank of second-class intermediate mage!! You use the same fire magic as your brother, the leader of the Crimson Lions, and you possess overwhelming power! You’ll have to be careful not to overdo it."

"No mercy for the demons." answers the interested, as red haired as his brother captain.

Very interesting. Julius distributes the promotions according to merit and does not hesitate to point the finger at the defects of the knight. Not only is he impartial, he is also an educator. He reminds me in some ways of Damien, my former Guardian and reincarnation of the Archangel Gabriel. My heart hugs painfully as I think of Damien...  
  
"With six stars, Sol Marron of the Blue Rose!! I raise you to the rank of third-class intermediate mage!! You are as vigorous as a boy! Added to that, the fact that your creative magic of the earth is staggering, but you’re a little too free-spirited!"

"My sis.. I mean, the Captain is the only person who can restrain me." Replies the busty mixed origins, feminist at will.

Curses, I physically complex. She has everything she needs, where it needs to be and makes a good meter eighty. And she is free of spirit. In what way is being free of mind a flaw? I will have to ask Julius, being worse than Sol level freedom of mind I am puzzled.

I cross my arms under my chest, sighing my soul in passing.

_I’m pissed off, but at some point... it’s not against you, Julius, I just hate formalities._

"With nine stars, Nebra Silva of the Silver Eagles is elevated to the rank of third-class senior mage!! Your clever illusions of Mist magic are fantastic! Be careful not to use them more than necessary against your enemies. It could backfire on you."

"Thank you for that advice, Your Majesty, eheh." Chuckle what appears to be Noelle’s sister, dressed like a swan parading proudly.

Noelle jiggles next to me and I take her hand, giving her a magical wave of relaxation.

_"Relax, it’s all right..."  
  
_ I interrupt myself brutally.

Anguish rises in me.

I let go of Noelle’s hand.

My bowels twist and knot infinitely.

I wear my mask of indifference.

My fists clench, my nails pierce my palms.

My reconnaissance spell has activated.

Chronos' energy has reached Clover.  
  
I turn around, positioned in front of the exit door to try to clear my feeling as discreetly as possible. I carry my Ankh hand around my neck and activate it, camouflaging my mana even when I use my powers. I feel Noelle’s panicked gaze cover me, I smile gently and I shift my attention to the front door, my recognition spell taking over my entire vision.

Everything turns black in front of me.

An electromagnetic wave overwhelms me, my body electrifies from the inside.

Then, my mind map is drawn on the black veil that obstructs my view. I retain a surprised cry.  
  
Dozens... No. Hundreds of blue dots appear all in one place, outside the Royal Capital. They are gradually moving towards us. The magic imprint is indeed that of Chronos but in too small quantity for it to be directly him. This print is identical to that of his army of innocent zombies.

I have always hated this power of zombification. It imprisons souls and deprives them of reincarnation.

In view of the situation, he had to send an artifact of enslavement through the Portal before closing it. Chronos is still in Tartarus but he’s pulling the strings.

I close my eyes for a few seconds, rub my eyelids and open them by blinking quickly, my original vision back to normal. I pick up my phone in one of the saddlebags on my belt, don’t give a damn about anachronism and type in my father’s number. I have to warn him.

I quickly type on the touch pad.

  
  
_"Chronos' henchmen are at our doorstep, an imminent attack._

_I’ll take care of everything._

_I love you."_

I am sending the message. He has received it. I am putting my phone offline, putting it away.

Noelle is speechless but it is not the phone that disturbs her. She pulls me by the arm.

_"Yuki... What happened? Your eyes lit up brightly in blue for a few minutes! You scared me, although I don’t say that because I’m worried!"_

This young woman is touching. Really. I turn to the assembly, pretending to listen.

_"Let’s say I had a... Little problem. An excess of powers, it always does that to me unfortunately!"_ I’m laughing mentally and Noelle seems to believe me.  
  
"You did a great job. We had a little reception, and I hope you enjoy it." Announces Julius, hands on the altar in front of him. " Oh! I was going to forget. We have special guests today. Make sure you hear yourself well!" His tone is cheerful and his smile radiant but there is a subtext addressed to his confirmed knights.

_This is neither the time nor the place to make friends over a snack..._

All eyes are on us, cold and haughty. Mimosa, Yuno, Asta, Klaus and Noelle freeze like ice statues and I refrain from flipping the bird by reflex. Instead, my skull emits strong heat jamming the air around my head. Julius gives me a concerned look, a flash of anxiety passing through his pupils for the time of an eye blink. I support his gaze and smile at him as naturally as possible so that he diverts his attention from me.  
We then go to this famous reception. The circular room is huge and bright, the tables of banquets scattered here and there, the clans well visible. The group of patches, of which I am a member, is gathered together and the young people sip their glass, holding the cups as if they were holding their salvation, uncomfortable.

I am preparing my fight to come. By eating, of course. It prepares my body for the future massive loss of magic. And it’s delicious, why waste the opportunity?

The silence may be heavy, but that’s not going to spoil my appetite. Finally, the silence... It’s quickly said. Julius is joined by Marx who whispers something in his ear, erasing the usual radiant smile of the Wizard King in favor of a fleeting expression thwarted.

I suddenly stop chewing my piece of beef.

  
  
_Fuck it. It’s connected. There’s something serious going on so that Julius is so dark._

Julius clears his throat.

"I have some business to attend to, excuse me. Have fun!" And on that, he walks towards the exit and when he gets to my level, his amethyst eyes meet my brown eyes and time seems to stop.

No. Julius really stopped time. He fixed all the knights present, except the two of us. Unless it was the whole kingdom...

I swallow my piece of steak and put my plate on the table, wiping my mouth at the same time.

Julius is facing me, seriously.  
  
"You know what’s going on, don’t you? You felt something? Please tell me what you know." He kindly commands me.

I will not lie to him, his kingdom is in danger and he is too. I carefully choose my words.

"My detection spell has activated. Chronos probably found a way to send a slave artifact to someone who used it to create an army marching towards us. That son of a bitch, though, is still not in Clover, which is a good thing. I don’t know what the enemy’s objective is, but Chronos will use it to try and kidnap me, at best."

Julius' eyes darken. I don't give him time to reply.

"I am a Magic Knight of Clover. I would protect the citizens of this realm. Let me deal with the infected, I have my Cryptex now. I swear on my life." And I salute him. Julius seems surprised then smiles strangely, between fun and wonder.  
  
He reduces the space between the two of us, enough for me to feel the warmth emanating from his being and he carries his hand on my shoulder and stares into my eyes. He opens his mouth the first time, hesitates, then his lips move and the sound coming out of it is without appeal.

"Don’t overdo it.... Your father would kill me if anything happened to you. Wiazrd King’s order." He rambles, smiles with his eyes closed and his hand tightens on my shoulder.

I am somewhat confused by his attitude, my guts invaded by a swarm of butterflies.

_You ask too much. The current situation is too risky for me to take care of._

Julius raise his eyebrows, I raise mine in response.

_Oh._

"Oh." He lets go, too.  
  
We look at each other, surprised.

"Ahem... After these events, let’s talk together, as planned." He told me, pulling his hand off my shoulder and readjusting his robe. " Don’t forget your plate!" he added, winking at me. I obey automatically, returning to my original position and he breaks his spell, leaving the room that revives.

This man is fascinating. He managed to capture my thoughts through touch. Did he notice that I was talking like that to Noelle and he took advantage of it? Or is it my powers that are beyond my control?

I take another bite of my plate, perplexed. Klaus growls without warning, pulling me out of my reverie.

"Rrrrgh. They look at us wrong. How can we have fun? Why did the Wizard King want to see us?" He questions himself, exasperated. Noelle lies in silence, her face sweating because of stress.  
  
"BUT HOW GOOD IS THIS THING?! I’ve never tasted anything so good!" exclaims Asta, amazed at this banquet. He devours his plate and I join him.

"Here, taste it!" And I show him on my plate the piece of salmon, which he picks without hesitation and then eats.

"Woaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!"

Mimosa completes the gourmet trio with embarrassment. "Asta, Yuki, can I join you?"

"Of course!" We answer in chorus, returning to the passage to share our food.  
  
The knights dart at us with their contemptuous gaze.

"Vulgar peasant!"

"Why did the Wizard King invite these poor bastards?"

"The treasure of the dungeon was a stroke of luck."

"My God, it’s disgusting, how he eats!"

"It is not normal for such a loser to be here. A real marginal!"

Mimosa and Klaus are extremely uncomfortable with the comments of the knights of their company. I keep eating so I don’t eat them. Asta is always so quiet.

"Well, I’m used to it. They break me in half, right?"  
  
Leopold Vermillion approaches the group of harassers. "Your group also has its peasant, right? A poor man praised because he has a four-leaf grimoire and who doesn't know where he belongs!" His tone is mocking and as hot as his magic. "I would have done much better to hunt the dungeon!" He continues by provoking Alecdora.

"What great confidence in you, you scarlet brat. The fact is that we expect nothing from this peasant. But we embody the ideals of Master Revenge of the Golden Dawn!"

"If I may..." Klaus' tent, briefly interrupted by Alecdora.

"Klaus, you too, with your pathetic talents, are you not ashamed to be here?" He spits, casting a slant look at this poor young man. " Mimosa! I heard you were wounded and gave up the fight. You, a Vermillion, a noble. Ridiculous!"  
  
The little redhead confuses herself as an apology when she absolutely should not. My hands cling to the cutlery I hold, ready to explode.

A treacherous sneer resounds in the room.

"No, wait, the real miserable of the lot is you Noelle, isn’t it? An unprecedented discomfort in the anal, the one who cannot control her magic!"

"Big brother Solid..." Balbutie my little protégé, more and more desperate.

"You’ve practically been banished from the Silvas. I’m surprised you have the nerve to go to the capital!"

"Big sister Nebra..."

"Get excited after a single success... Really. Did you come to shame the Silva? You have no business here. Leave this place, you loser!"  
  
It’s the extra drop of water. Noelle turns, mortified, towards the exit. Asta grabs her wrist, furious. " You don’t have to run over in front of these freaks!"

That’s all I needed to lose my temper.

I throw my plate like a frisbee in the direction of Solid’s front, which receives the blow and falls back because of the shock, screaming insults and death threats against me. I sprinting agilely towards Nebra and I shoot a direct straight into his nose, the bone breaking below my knuckles. Her nose turns into a geyser of blood, her face is distorted by hatred. I pull my Ankh out of its collar and all my hidden magic is revealed to everyone, screams of amazement echoing from both sides of the room. I turn to the captain of the Silver Eagle, defying his gaze.  
  
"Asta... Yuki!" Manages to articulate Noelle, incredulous.

Asta jumps on a table to overlook the assembly.

"Since you were summoned here, I thought you were good people. But I was wrong. You are no different from the others! We don’t give a shit about our origins! Watch! I’ll..."

"Sand Barrier Magic: Sandy Box! It’s pretty cheap. Insects don’t have the right to speak! Silence!" Alecdora casts his spell, a mass of living sand imprisoning Asta. Or not. This little one has an anti-magic sword, all the same. Asta breaks the spell with disconcerting ease.  
  
"I wouldn’t shut up!! Listen, you sacks of shit! I will chain the successes in order to become Wizard King! And I will silence each and every one of you!" Clam Asta, his sword pointed at the knight veterans.

"YOU ARE RIDICULOUS!" Nozel and his two stupid brother and sister who got up after my respective coup. They each prepare a spell to throw at Asta but stop immediately, petrified.

I released my murderous aura to twenty percent capacity, just enough to wrap me totally but not enough to piss them off in their pants. I offer them a carnal smile, signature smile on my goddess side.

"I don’t give a shit, you degenerates. I’d like to take advantage of this banquet to fill up my energy, but you disgust me with your bullshit. The next guy who fucks with these kids, I’m gonna have him take a bath with his intestines." I’m threatening, cracking my knuckles.

"A foreigner and a peasant who defies nobles? How should I punish you?" Also threatens Nozel, releasing in turn his frigid aura.  
  
"Punish me? You? AHAHAH! Don’t make me laugh, you were born ten thousand years too late to dream of punishing me." I sneer, freeing up my aura a little more.

"ENOUGH!"

The man who interrupts us is Fuegoleon Vermillion, the captain of the Crimson Lions. I measure him for a few seconds and then I’m delighted.

"All because of a little boy and the strange girl from Bellafotia. Aren’t you ashamed?! Clan Silva!" The tone of Fuegoleon is dignified and authoritarian, more rigid than Julius but just as impressive.

Dad’s going to kill me, I’m pointing at captains in the wrong direction besides hitting royalty. I mean, technically, I’m also a royal in my world...  
  
"Mimosa was right, you are interesting, little man!" Compliments Leopold to Asta. "Very well, rejoice! I, Leopold Vermillion, take you as my rival!"

"Huh?" Answers the interested, totally lost.

"Vermillion?" Makes Yuno, adding two plus two.

"Yes, Fuegoleon and Leopold are my cousins." Says Mimosa nicely.

"Guys, all jerks, huh sis? But _her_ , she is raw!" comments Sol, continuing her meal.

"Hold tight, Sol." Say her captain, Charlotte Roselei.

The atmosphere gets darker again when Fuegoleon and Nozel face each other, looking at each other like a earthenware dog.

"It was Lord Julius himself who brought them here. Even if he is a peasant or she, a foreigner, you should give them some credit, no?" Ask Fuegoleon about it.

"I never thought I’d hear such a speech from a nobleman... The Vermillion house has settled down. What kind of bail could give an eagle that hovers in the sky to insects that just crawl?" answers Nozel, despising.

By Gaia, that humans are idiots.

Two cocks who want to have the monopoly of the chicken coop. I bet on Fuegoleon, it is more friendly to me.

And both released their mana, that of Fuegoleon taking the form of a lion and that of Nozel, an eagle. They are undoubtedly powerful and this balance of power is impressive.

"EMERGENCY!!!! The capital is attacked!!!" announces a messenger, launching the top start I’ve been waiting for.

We all turn to him, alert.

"Are we under attack?" exclaims Fuegoleon, on the alert.

One of the Magic Knight of the Golden Dawn, Siren Tium, materializes a three-dimensional map of the royal city.

"Creative Magic of Stone: Stone Model of the World"

"It even transmits the voices and levels of mana... Does his mana spread everywhere and produce a real-time replica?" Questions out loud, Klaus.

"How could we not have foreseen such a massive mana attack? There is in this mana an energy more than strange, as corrupted" Continue Alecdora, stunned.

"A great user of space magic had to materialize them in a flash." Theorise Fuegoleon. He continues "How should we divide ourselves?"

I’m clearing my throat.

"Captain Vermillion. The strange mana mentioned by Alecdora is extremely dangerous. It has contaminated the people attacking the city and neutralizing them will not be easy. You and your soldiers can kill them, but they’ll still get up. Whoever controls them must be shot first and if you wish to capture him, you must still destroy the artifact in his possession. It is this artifact that amplifies and distorts his magic." I explain to Captain Fuegoleon, hoping that he is understanding.

"How can you know all this when we are just learning that the capital is under attack?"

"Do you really want to talk about this when the entire population is at risk of being annihilated?" I answer to him from the tac to the tac, the tension coming back into me like a rubber band that we would have released.

He gazes at me for a few moments, his purple eyes searching my eyes for an answer.

"What do you propose?"

I smile, we will finally be able to act.

"Let me handle the zombie army and its puppeteer. They are instrumentalized by a force beyond your comprehension. The corrupt mana is only present in the army of minions and this guy. I can undo them and purify them."

My announcement provokes strong negative reactions, except from my little comrades. I sigh and invoke my Cryptex from my heart. A purple and golden scroll forms next to me, materializing my Grimoire.

"Deeds are worth more than words. Look, you will understand." I let go, jaded.

_"Νοβαφωτία"_ The cylinders of my Cryptex rotate to form the name I thought and opened, the parchment unfolding carefully around my body. I pass my finger along the parchment until I feel the papyrus containing the incarnation I am looking for.

My second incarnation.

The one that marked my soul the most in this life, the one that made me have a passion for Egypt. The one that is most suitable for purification and that is based on pure magic.

_"Nefertiri"_

My scroll freezes . The cylinders of the Cryptex are spinning fast, forming my old name, in a halo with shades of the sun in its different phases.

Energy flows into my being, my muscles reorganize, my body floats and bends into a fetal position, attacked from within by the intensity of the change of powers. My memories of this life invade me like a wild torrent. Joys, sorrows, anger, love.

I had never before assimilated these memories as my own, refusing the fatality they implied. I refused my cursed heritage.

But this legacy can save this kingdom. My father.

_Julius._

I have to get up.

And I do it.

I am the daughter of the Sun, the daughter of Isis, granddaughter of Ra. I am Nefertiri, as much as I am Yuki... Well, as much as I am _me_.

My transformation is complete. I missed that Egyptian outfit.

My magic calms down and I look around me. Fuegoleon passes from surprise to some kind of satisfaction.

“I understand now. Yuki, I’ll let you handle the corrupt and the artifact. Don’t let us down.”

"Understood. Asta? Your anti-magic can also break the zombie spell, don’t hold back." I warn Asta, get down to the ground gracefully.

"What are we waiting for? These people need us! Let’s help them! I will go where there is the most tumult!"

I laugh at the spirit of my comrade, who runs away.

"Ahahah is so good! I want to see what you’re worth!" said Leopold, "Wait for me, rival!"

"You won’t be enthusiastic about me leading the operation but... Listen up, Magic Knights! I’m going to join Leo and the Black Bull. Once there, we will hold the Northern District! You, the girl from the Black Bulls, follow me!" Directs Fuegoleon while creating a mount in the shape of a lion of fire, reaching out to Noelle.

"Silver Eagles, take care of the central district, where there is the most enemy mana!! Daughters of the Blue Rose, to the east! And Golden Dawn, split into two units, north and west! Bellafotia, we will slow down the infected and destroy the others, do what you have to do."

  
And they all leave on their mounts.

My wings grafted into my armbands turn into human-sized wings and I fly out of the building, reaching the sky of the capital. Smoke rises from both sides of the buildings, citizens run in search of shelter, the infected are very numerous. There are far more than a hundred of them. I analyze the city, my eyes saw gold color by the spell of purification.

All the infected appear to me in midnight blue and a detail catches my attention. A darker mass more intense than the others, the artifact and its wearer. First I have to stop the small fry before it does any more damage.  
I rest on the edge of the roof of the palace, my wings retracted. I extend my arms on each side, parallel to the ground, the body straight. I take a deep breath.

The rays of the sun caress my skin and the throat of this ancient magic that animates me. The rays of Ra and Helios.

I exhale for a long time, emptying my lungs to take another breath. I can’t let the stress invade me now. Too many lives depend on it, no matter what mine suffers.

"Medjays! اسمع ملكتك! يقع الظلام على أرض إله الشمس، وينضم إلي ويهزمون العدو! لإيسيس! لرا! "  
 _"Medjays! Hear your Queen! The darkness falls on the earth of the Sun God, join me and defeat the enemy! For Isis! For Ra! "_

The earth trembles. A horn of war rings.

A sharp pain pierces my wrist engraving. My vein starting from the number darkens and the ink-colored blood rises up in my arm, my shoulder to reach my heart, which contracts brutally, pumping the tainted blood throughout my system.

A second horn of war sounds.

Metallic footsteps sound in perfect harmony. My Medjays are there.

"My Queen. We are at your command."  
  
Adjib. My dear General, leading my army out of the four portals my magic summoned. I have temporarily torn the veil of reality to bring them in and as long as I keep it open, they will remain in Clover.

Chronos cannot take it, the road that I forced leads, without any possible detour, to the Douat. But it is not without consequences.

I turn to Adjib, who now has the appearance of a bodybuilt mummy, beneath his black leather armor. He even has his long black hair and his dark eyes.

"Adjib. Do you see these impurities? This corruption of Chronos? I want you to help the human soldiers who are fighting against them. Purify these corrupt, do not make a quarter. Protect the population. I take care of their master."

"At your command, my Queen."  
  
My soldiers with superhuman agility jump one by one from the roof, going into battle. I have to lighten their load and find this bastard as soon as I can before I go down.

I jump from the roof head first, the feeling of falling into the void is exhilarating, liberating. I spread my wings and fly towards the dark mass. When I reach the ground, Asta is in battle against the man in question, a little girl nestled in his arms.

His fight is against a necromant.

_Chronos had to choose his puppet more than well. A fucking necromancer._

And this necromant summons other corrupts.

I’m staring at him.

An eye band to his left eye, long, light purple, tall hair, a torn cape, black clothes and a red bandage to his left arm. And on his left arm, over the bandages, is a thick, silver bracelet, set with a kind of sapphire that makes me puke.

The artifact.  
  
Asta quickly eliminated the corrupt who by chance – especially by anti-magic – do not recover.

"Why... Why attack innocent people, you scum? I WILL TEAR YOU DOWN!"

Asta rushes at the man, claymore in hand, like a rabid bull. It stops sharply when a hybrid golem appears from the ground, just as corrupt as the others.

"Innocent? He who does not recognize my power... Is a sinner!" Spit the necromancer in a sadistic laugh. "Here’s your new prey, Jimmy!"

_And like Chronos, this degenerate gives a name to his creations_.

"You use too much shady stuff!! It’s not fair!"

And Jimmy, without warning, attacks Asta at lightning speed. An injury to the cheek.  
  
"Jimmy’s particular body has touched you and is charged with evil power. Even simple scratches will not stop bleeding. I would be very careful if I were you!" Very kindly warns the necromancy.

"ASTA!" I yell at him, grabbing his attention. "It’s that guy! Keep him busy as much as possible, I will cleanse him, the corrupt can be killed later and Jimmy will no longer be cursed!"

"Understood!"

Asta copes with a series of attacks, his arms moving in all directions, well camped on his legs. It has an incredible energy that I must not waste while admiring this future prodigy. But if it bleeds like this, it will pass.

I wave my wrist in a perfect circle towards the little blond ash and mentally I pronounce.

_"Solar purification"_

_  
  
_A golden halo envelops Asta, removing the curses falling upon him as he goes along. My blackened vein is joined by another vein, darkening more slowly than the first. I lose my breath for a few seconds and then prepare my other spell. I’m going to need some time.

An attack is launched in my direction and I do a back flip, then another just after, before pushing on my forearms to propel me on the flat roof of a nearby house.

"Kill that runt, Jimmy!" Order the necromancy to his golem. Jimmy goes to the little girl, immediately protected by Asta, always wrapped up in my spell.

Two spells at once and I already shit.

I spread my arms to my side and put my knee to the ground, a magic Egyptian circle forms under my body. I target the necromancy and its artifact with a golden particle, which it tries to sweep by hand but without success. The particle penetrates the bracelet. All I have to do is start the ritual.

  
  
_"Khepri, Ra, Atoum, Solar God, I implore your sacred help to fight Apophis and his minions. I implore your help to cleanse this earth defiled by the serpent devouring worlds. Help me to purify the emissary of Apophis and to break the catalyst of defilement. O Great Solar God, take my strength, let it be yours!"_

Fire. Heat. My wings are on fire without falling to ashes, my spell is cast. Asta is no longer protected by my solar purification spell, he is struggling as much as he can to protect the little girl. Noelle cast her own water protection spell on the kid.  
  
But I can’t worry about them anymore. The magic circle blinds me, the golden magic emanating from it is propelled to the four corners of the city and on the necromant, whose bracelet loses power every second. My veins are as if filled with lava, the sharp pain increases as to it more and more.

Purification has a cost, since my body is human. And that cost is my health.

I clench my teeth, now the original position, feeling every corrupt inside my being lose their corruption, becoming mere zombies again. I feel every Medjai collaborating with the knights and giving them the coup de grace. I feel the Chronos bracelet disintegrating, and hid shadow cursing my person.

I feel my vital energy diminishing, my strength leaving me.

I can’t feel the heat.

I can feel the darkness.

* * *

  
  
_"It was a great idea to dress up as a servant, Princess Nefertiri!"_

_I laugh with good heart, this prince is the first to have pierced me._

_"No prince in my country has seen the reality behind appearances, Pharaoh my father is happily attached enough to me to let me marry the one who will pass the test of the four gods!"_

_"And discovering you was part of those tests?"_

_I agree._

_"So... without knowing it, I was more or less engaged to you?"_

_I agree, laughing again._

_"Unless, dear Prince, you do not want to marry the future Queen of Egypt?"_

_The Prince laughs in turn.  
"I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t marry you, Princess Nefertiri. You’re fascinating."_

_He approaches me and takes my hands in his. They are soft and warm._

_"If your heart wishes it as much as mine, I am your body and soul, my dear Hellenistic Prince."_

_He kisses each of my fingers, one by one._

_"In that case, why not start calling me by my first name, Nefertiri?"_

_That smile... as sunny as Ra himself. I blushed furiously._

_"With great pleasure, Julius..."_

* * *

_These memories... Where do they come from? Normally... It is not Julius, the prince... It is Damien. Deymnis, in his second incarnation. It is Damien who is supposed to be my soul mate and yet I feel that something is wrong. Everything is fuzzy, suspicious, everything seems to me wrong. Why show me this version of my life 3,700 years ago? Why instill even more doubt? Is Chronos playing me?  
  
"No, Chronos had nothing to do with it."_

_Aether._

_I’m in his space-time._

_"So, what did I just see?" I hit Aether, who surrounds me with his arms. He puts his head on mine. His torso rises to the calm rhythm of his breathing._

_"You just saw the truth, Yuki. At least, one of the truths hidden behind appearances."_

_I stiffened myself in his arms with wide eyes._

_"Aether... why did you show me this?"_

_"Because your curse has lasted too long... Now it’s time to wake up."_

_His arms let go and I fall into the void, the incomprehension anchored in my soul._

* * *

_  
  
_My eyes open and I rise up brutally, disoriented and panicked. I am in the same room as when I arrived in this world. I am back in the infirmary. My father rushes to me.  
  


"Cariña! ¡Por el amor de Dios! ¿No tienes consideración por tu vida? ¿Has olvidado que tienes una familia? ¡ Tu madre me matará si se entera de todo lo que ha pasado! ¡Has hecho demasiado!"

_"For God’s sake! Have you no regard for your life? Have you forgotten that you have a family? Your mother will kill me if she finds out what happened! You’ve done too much!"_

"Calmate, Dad! I’m still alive, as you can see!"

I wave my arms in front of him and lose my voice when I see the engraving on my wrist.  
  
 _120._

"Oh, for fuck’s sake."

"You said that, girlie."

Yami and Julius just walked into my room.

_Julius. Oh fuck, I’m in trouble. Oh fuck. Oh, kill me._

"I know you’re just waking up, but right now, the four of us are really gonna have to talk very seriously."

The Wizard King’s tone is unavoidable.  
  
  


* * *

All those drawings are mine, please don't repost without my consent <3

[Yuki Bellafotia / Black Bull ](https://imgur.com/a/PUChnnw)   
[Yuki's first spell: Nefertiri](https://imgur.com/a/1Y7D27r)


	12. Truth and Tomb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki wakes up after burning all her energy after defeating Chronos's artifact.  
> Julius, Yami and José wants some explanations.

Recap

* * *

My eyes open and I rise up brutally, disoriented and panicked. I am in the same room as when I arrived in this world. I am back in the infirmary. My father rushes to me.  
  


"Cariña! ¡Por el amor de Dios! ¿No tienes consideración por tu vida? ¿Has olvidado que tienes una familia? ¡ Tu madre me matará si se entera de todo lo que ha pasado! ¡Has hecho demasiado!"

_"For God’s sake! Have you no regard for your life? Have you forgotten that you have a family? Your mother will kill me if she finds out what happened! You’ve done too much!"_

"Calmate, Dad! I’m still alive, as you can see!"

I wave my arms in front of him and lose my voice when I see the engraving on my wrist.  
  
 _120._

"Oh, for fuck’s sake."

"You said that, girlie."

Yami and Julius just walked into my room.

_Julius. Oh fuck, I’m in trouble. Oh fuck. Oh, kill me._

"I know you’re just waking up, but right now, the four of us are really gonna have to talk very seriously."

The Wizard King’s tone is unavoidable.

* * *

  
  
"Before I get hammered for a thousand and one reasons, can I have a totally objective debrief on the situation please?" I ask, joining my hands in prayer, eyes closed. I sincerely hope that they will enlighten me before saying anything compromising. The three men sighed, and as I opened an eye, I saw them observe for a few seconds and then shift their attention to me. I feel tiny in front of Yami and Julius who are standing in front of my bed.

  
"The terrorist group that attacked the capital called The Eye of the Midnight Sun. Looks like they attacked us to get the necklace Fuegoleon was wearing. Unfortunately, Fuegoleon is currently here in the infirmary in a coma. They cut off his right arm, but his life is no longer in danger thanks to Owen and your father. The good news is that civilian casualties have been greatly limited and we owe this to an army of living dead who helped the Magic Knights." Explains Julius, the tone of his voice became lighter on the end of his report.

"And Asta and Noelle? How are they? I was with them before turning my eye."

"They’re fine, they went back to the Black Bull. Asta had been abducted by a few terrorists and led to a temple that I explored during my investigation of the Eye of the Midnight Sun. Unfortunately, they ran away thanks to their leader. There was a stone stele set with magic stones and I think the Fuegoleon pendant is one of them. Fortunately, I was able to keep one of their minions for a long interrogation." Continue Julius, skeptic at will.  
  
I fold my legs towards me, placing my head on it, thinking about all the information I have just received. A Captain was taken out of action for a pendant serving unknown purposes and by terrorists aided by Chronos. And this famous stele gathering the stones in question intrigues me.

I stand up and look at the Wizard King.

"Can you show me what this stele looks like?" I ask him, holding out my right hand.

Julius spreads his eyes slightly, approaches me and slides his right hand flat on mine.

"Remember the image of the stele, so I can access that memory."

He closes his eyes, frowning, creating a small wrinkle of highly adorable expression. I empty my mind and then try to connect with his. A light electric current starts from my neck, passes through my arm and hand to traverse Julius. His hand is taken from a small spasm but it doesn't move. The image of the stele is drawn in my brain. I see ten circles. Three horizontal lines, one on top of the other, each with two circles and four on the vertical, connected by a line in the middle.

_I know this stele... Oh. My. God._

I break the connection between Julius and me. A knot is created in my bowels, things go from bad to worse. I remove my hand from Julius’s and pass it through my hair which has become far too long for my liking. My fingers slide along a wick and I play mechanically with it, thinking at a thousand at the hour, trying to make mental connections between the stele and Chronos.  
  
"Oï, woman! Don’t you listen when we’re talking to you?" Grumble Yami, interrupting my reflection.

"Oh, sorry. Did someone say something?" I ask innocently.

"The old Julius was talking to you, you could at least listen to shit!" Yami yelled at me, shooting his cigarette that he just lit. Once again, I look at the burning tobacco and turn my head to the Wizard King.

"Sorry, you were saying?"

Julius smiles gently, wiping out my momentary mental absenteeism.  
"I was asking you if you’ve ever seen this stele somewhere, but in view of your reaction it would seem so."

I get rid of the sheet that covers me, fortunately I’m wearing one of my tracksuits that Dad had to bring me back at some point. I get up and head to the window.

"You should lie down cariña, you’ve burned enough energy like that." Advises my father, worried. His features are drawn, he seems exhausted.  
  
"Except for the soreness, I’m fine, my darling daddy." I tell him, stretching me all the way. " Regarding the stele, I'm more than surprised to see it in this world. It represents the Tree of Qlipoth, of the Kabbalah. On Earth, the Kabbalah is derived from the Jewish religion, and Qlipoth is also called the Tree of Death. But this stele could very well represent the Tree of Life, but I have a strong reserve on it." I pause, gauging my listeners.

Julius scratches his chin, thoughtful.  
"What would be the usefulness of this stele, in your opinion?" Julius asks me, prowling in the room. I turn to the window, admiring the morning sun. I cross my arms under my breasts and sigh.

"If it is indeed the Tree of Qlipoth, the utilities are multiple but absolutely all would break the balance of the world. Bring the evil seraphim back to our plane of reality, resurrect the dead on a large scale, summon powerful demons and maybe even a Titan or Primordial God." I turn my back to the window and press me on it. " And since Chronos helped the Eye of the Midnight Sun in this assault, he knows this little detail. I’m ten thousand percent sure." I finish, nearly desperate.

Julius stops his meditative walk and gives me an indecipherable look. I stiffened myself, feeling guilty of too many things at the same time and uncomfortable with my vision of my previous life.

Yami explodes with laughter. I ignite myself unintentionally, the magic fire sparing the furniture and the ground.

"What makes you laugh so much, Captain?" I whistle between my teeth, upset.

"It’s just hilarious to see you uncomfortable when you feel like someone’s gonna pull your ears out for yesterday’s behavior." Says he wiping a tear in the corner of his eye.

"It is not you who, during a banquet organized by the Wizard King, broke the nose of a princess, smashed her brother’s skull with a plate, threatened their Big Brother Captain and disobeyed the said Wizard King by pushing my limits. All in one afternoon." I list, preferring to shoot myself in the foot alone. I extinguish the flames running through my body.

Yami approaches me and pats me vigorously in the back, happy. "You’re not the first to want to beat up the Silvas, but you’re the first to do it! You’re a champion, Yuki!" He laughs, handing me a cigarette that I accept with immense gratitude, my smile stretching from one ear to the other.

My father moans when I light it with my magic and when I carry it to my mouth and mechanically turn my head to the side, Julius' indescribable amethyst gaze continues to stare at me.

I suck the cigarette a little too hard, nervous.  
  
"Now you’re gonna explain who you really are, girl." Yami threatens me, cracking his knuckles.

I swallow the bile stored in my throat.

So I tell him everything I have told Julius, no more or less. He does not seem satisfied.

"And this spell you cast? What was it exactly?"

Julius changes in a second of expression, becoming the magic lover he is. His eyes sparkle like the celestial vault and the space of a moment I lose myself, brought back to reality by Yami who snaps his fingers in front of me.  
  
"Ah, sorry. My Grimoire is special. It’s a Cryptex gathering my previous lives. I used a spell temporarily changing my magical attributes and my most appropriate prior life to the situation is called _Nefertiri_. Roughly speaking, in this form, I can invoke my army capable of purifying everything from disease to defilement and some minor curses. I am able to heal and also purify. That’s why I took the initiative, and with the agreement of Fuegoleon, to destroy the enemy necromancer's artifact, which contained the corrupt power of Chronos. The details are still unclear as to how he managed to send it here but one thing is certain: this is only the beginning. Especially if he is allied to the Eye of the Midnight Sun"  
  
Julius is admiring. Yami takes out a new cigarette, thoughtful. My father, he, ends inwardly.

_He’s scarier than my mother, I forgot never to upset him._

I instinctively grope my left wrist. Fatal error.

Julius' expression is getting serious again.

"How is it that your count has dropped drastically?" His voice is raised, authoritarian.

_Let’s think about it. Either I’m lying, or I’m telling the truth at the risk of screwing it up and putting him in danger, or I’m running. How would my past lives act? Oh, yes, they would lie. But me? What am I going to do?_

_  
_  
I finish my cigarette, dissolving the butt magically, leaving no trace. I’m naturally heading to the exit door, the tension in the room much too heavy for me.

"Don’t make me scold you in public, Cariña. I know what you’re going to do." Papa say to me, who gently approaches me while my hand is on the handle.

I turn my head towards him, smiling guilty painted on the face, becoming more and more nervous. I lower the handle.

"Senorita Bella. Stop now." Threaten my father, ready to explode. Shit, he said my last name, at this rate it’s my real name that’s gonna leak out of punishment.

I open the door.  
  
"KATERINA BELLA! ¡Si sales de esta sala, te perseguiré y te ataré a tu habitación y no verás la luz del día hasta que decidas actuar como una adulta!"  
 _"If you come out of this room, I will hunt you down and tie you to your bedroom and you will not see the light of day until you decide to act like an adult!"_

I knew it. My name ran away. Damn for damn... I hurried out of the room, rushing down the long corridor, looking for a way to save my remaining 120 days of life. Chronos doesn’t scare me anymore, but my father and the truth do. A flash of light arrives in front of me and I stop my race, Julius appearing between the corner of the corridor and my father and Yami behind me. He smiles at me like a lion in front of his prey, arms crossed and eyes bright.

  
  
_Fuck, he’s hot. Grab me, honey... NO! SAVE YOUR ASS, KAT!!_

My father is a few steps away from me, Julius too. Okay. Let’s try it all.

I point my finger at the huge window, taking on the most astonishing air I have in stock, then shout.

"OH GOD! AN ANCESTRAL DRAGON!!"

The fan of magic falls into the trap, Yami follows the movement, there is that my father remains marble, the pupils dilated. It’s enough.

"Sayonara!" I wave nervously, joining my hands, Japanese style, and then teleports far away from here.

* * *

  
  
Very far away... Everything is relative. My teleportation led me to where I landed for the first time in Clover, in the forest of the Common Realm. The difference is that I have a grimoire, no shoes, my father who wants to sequester me and potentially a Wizard King turned against me. Not to mention Yami, who will be much less tender than the other two men put together. I plunge into the forest, out of the path and walk quickly blindly. The trees are huge, the sun’s rays only reach me very little, it’s cool and humid. I walk a quarter of an hour and I hear a sound of water in the distance. I approach and I discover with happiness a small waterfall falling into a basin that seems deep, adorned with carved rocks, with dilapidated white columns strewn with climbing ivy.  
  
I continue to approach the edge and then I plunge my hand into the crystal clear water. It's fresh, invigorating and magical. There is something in this water. A cave? A sunken temple? The two solutions are the same. My eyes go from the bottom of the water to the surface, my reflection looks at me in turn. My hair is really too long. A wrist, a magic stroke and my long hair severs at the neck, freeing me from at least two kilos of keratin. I burn the excess hair fallen to the ground. I again observe my reflection in the water, satisfied with the rendering. The detail that bothers me is my left eye. It has turned blue. It is a sign that I am losing my humanity, having had those eyes only as a goddess, as a Rhea-Tayet. I sigh, closing my eyelids for a few seconds, re-opening them and I see the reflection of Julius behind me.

«Είθε οι θεοί να με στείλουν στην κόλαση!»  
 _"May the gods send me to hell!"_

I continue to swear for a good minute, alternating between Greek and Arabic, a sign of my mental death. Julius refrains from laughing, struggling to keep his figure of authority. I catch my breath, my heart threatening to come out of his cage of bones. I raise my hands as a sign of defeat and return to Julius, who is waiting patiently.

"Are you done running, _Katerina_?" Does he insist on my real name, raising an eyebrow and smiling in the corner.  
  
"Literally or figuratively?" I try a touch of humor despite the thorny situation.

"Both. Now that we are alone, we can finally have this discussion, don’t you think?" He said sitting on one of the blocks of carved rock, facing the basin.

"And the flight is unthinkable I presume?" I blow, resigned.

"Useless, especially. You don’t have your necklace to hide your mana, finding you would be a disconcerting facility." He teases me, taunting.  
  
I sit on the slabs strewn around the basin, dipping my legs into the water to the calves. The silence settles between us, there is only the sound of the waterfall and nature in the background. After what seems like an eternity, Julius starts the conversation.

"What should I call you now? Yuki? Katerina?" Does he ask me for a light voice, devoid of anger.

My muscles relax, somewhat reassured. I was leaning on myself, shoulders tucked in.

"Kat, that’s enough. Katerina has become a special alarm signal _Mom and Dad are mad at me_ so Kat, it’s fine and it doesn’t wake up my childhood anxiety." I’m laughing slowly, thinking. "Another question?"

  
Julius makes a noise of disapproval.

"This is not an interrogation, but a discussion between two adults."

I turn my head to the right, where Julius is. I believe that he has not stopped watching me since his arrival. I wiggle on the spot, beating the surface of the water with my feet.

"My soul may be ten thousand years old, Kat Bella, even at twenty five, is still a woman-child. But you are right, this is a discussion you want to have with me, forgive my lack of tact." I’m sorry, head down.

Julius slides over his block to me, closing the gap between us.

"You don’t have to apologize for that. However, you will have to apologize to Yami and José for running away. Why did you leave like a tornado? Is it my question that bothered you?" Julius asks me, skeptic.

I drop back, lying on the ground, my legs still submerged. The sun’s rays illuminate the leaves in the trees, dancing to the rhythm of the morning breeze. I can’t run away from the truth forever, much less from a time mage.

"Your question did not bother me. It is its answer that bothers me."

"Why is that?"

His tone is innocent and gentle.

_Why is that? Because I always manage alone, that this is MY problem and that my death will only generate a new cycle of resurrection in case Chronos did not destroy our worlds in the meantime?  
  
_ "Because a single word can change the course of events." I finally explained, terrified by this idea of screwing everything up.

Julius leans forward, leaning his elbows against his knees, head nestled on his crossed hands. He stares straight ahead, as he looked for his words.

"It is by wanting at all costs to avoid the inevitable that we provoke what we avoid." He finally told me.

_He talks like Aether._

I get up and start beating the water with my feet again. He is right. They are all right. Aether, Julius, Papa. I’m the only one who does what I do.

"My countdown does not represent the number of days I have left before I return to my world. It represents the number of days I have left to live."  
  
The bomb is dropped. I curl up on myself, my legs out of the water. A wave of bile comes up in my esophagus, my stomach burns because of the rising stress. I dare to look again at Julius and he straddles the block, facing me, intensely staring at me, an indescribable glow in his beautiful amethyst eyes. I can’t put a name to what he might be feeling right now.  
  
"I told you not to overdo it at the banquet."

"I know... I’m sorry."

_I’m sorry, but I had to._

"You used forty days that you had in store to fight the terrorists."

"It was worth it."

_I was able to save you, the city, my father, and you._

"Burning your life at both ends is never worth it."

"You can’t understand."

_My life was already over when I got here._

_  
  
_"And you can’t understand what a father can feel when he sees his unconscious daughter because she has used her magic too much."

"I did it to protect all of you. I did what no one could have done with the magic of Chronos."

_In ten thousand years, I could not undo it. You could not, even less with a magic similar to his..._

"You could have told me everything instead of putting yourself in such danger."

"And put you in danger afterwards? Out of the question."

_I’ve lost enough loved ones in all my lives._

"I’m big enough to protect myself. Trust us. Trust me."

"It’s not about trust."

_Because I already trust you. Crazy as it sounds, for a woman who has only known a man for twenty days. At least that’s what I thought._

"So what does it take for you to rest a little on us?"

I open and close my mouth like a fish in his jar and I finally look away from the man in front of me. The question is more than relevant but the answer is not at its height. I slip my finger on the tattoo on my right forearm, from the snake’s tail to the head, looking for how to formulate my answer. I repeat this process two, three times, the calm coming back into me. Julius is of a patience to any test, I am unworthy.

  
  
_I wish I could tell you to let me do what I feel like, like a cat who makes its life and comes home when necessary but that won’t satisfy you. I'd like to tell you that everything is under control, that I have some tracks to explore, but it is still nothing concrete. I’d like to tell you that I have a solution to my imminent death problem, but that would give everyone false hope. Except that I have no answer, I have only doubts and my recent visions make them worse._

"Expressing one’s doubts is also resting on others." Julius says calmly.

I didn’t expect to find myself in even greater emotional distress than I was already in, but this is the big one. I slowly rotate my head towards Julius and my blood freezes when I realize that he has his hand on my shoulder and is leaning towards me. My breath stopped, my eyes refused to close, I would like to run away again. The tall blond notices my distress and sits down, removing his big hand from my shoulder. My mouth opens itself, I am no longer mistress of my words.

"Right now, I’m wondering if you’re telepathic, if I’m losing control of my powers, or if you just noticed how I was talking to Noelle quietly. In any case, I have a terrible desire to dig a hole in the ground, deep enough to reach the earth’s crust and take a lava bath with Lucifer."  
  
Julius' eyes soften, he lets out a warm laugh, his shoulders moving at the same rhythm. I look at him, stunned. He stops laughing but, while keeping the smile, simply tells me." I think this is the first time you’ve actually been honest with yourself, and me at the same time."

And for the first time, I blush conspicuously before the Wizard King. Before Julius.

_Damn messed up memories._

I’m stopping my thought.

"You didn’t hear what I thought, did you?" I asked him in fourth gear.

He seems surprised by my question, trying to see where I’m going.

"No, why, I should have?" He answers me innocently.

"NOT AT ALL!" My answer escapes my control and I pinch lips, cursing myself. " Let’s say that when I ramble, I prefer to keep it in my head and not in the other’s." I explain, embarrassed.

"That’s normal. If it makes you feel any better, I only hear your thoughts when there’s physical contact, as you do with the young Silva. My powers allow me to see fragments of the future, certainly, but only what is physically happening, not what is happening in the psyche of people."

The sigh of relief that I exhale is so obvious and noisy that shame rises in me. I curse myself once again. Julius gets up, stretches and I get a glimpse of what’s under his imposing robe. He looks well built and slender at the same time and...

_By all the polytheistic gods! This man looks endowed with a butt to worship from all angles! I knew there were only angels to be so perfect!_

Luckily, there was no physical contact during my thought of a starved woman. I feign innocence, swallowing my saliva that was formed while I was admiring the five-star gourmet menu in the Michelin Guide. The grunt that Julius releases at the end of the stretch does nothing to help my impulses. This time, it is my body that acts alone. My legs lift me up, back from the basin, get momentum and throw me into the water, jumping in the middle of the basin making the bomb. Luckily I don’t have to take my breath, my gills appearing on their own.  
  
Saved. No physical contact possible, my body temperature is decreasing, there is something underwater. Wait. I really need to see this.

I’m floating on the surface, facing a lost Julius.

_AN EXCUSE! QUICK!!_

"Ahem.. In fact, I was lured here because there is a magical imprint that intrigues me. And as I saw you get up, I thought you were going to leave, so I thought I’d explore this strange pool before returning to the Den to face Yami, and then die at my father’s hand!"

He seems to buy my excuse. He approaches the ledge, observes the basin for a few seconds, smiles mysteriously, then announces "Pay attention to yourself. I have to make a public speech about the attack on the capital and I have prisoners to question so I won’t be available. Your father put our respective numbers on our phones, let me know if you find anything out here, okay?"

I’m more than surprised but I try not to let it appear. I nod, inhaling fresh water.  
  
"Promise?" asks Julius, frowning.

I get closer to him. I pull my left hand out of the water, the one with my countdown and hands him my pinky. He seems surprised at the moment but hooks his to mine.

_"Promise."_

His smile melts my little heart.

_"I’m counting on you."_

_  
  
_We let go at the same time. He greets me, then goes in his golden halo. I lay down for a few minutes on the rim of the basin, with my head in my arms crossed on the pavement.

The more I try to put distance between the people of this world and me, the more this distance is closed by these same people. I’m a salmon trying to get the current up, but the current is getting stronger and stronger and I’m exhausting myself fighting nature itself.

I push myself to the center of the basin thanks to an impulse of my legs and I dive into the water. My body regulates my temperature alone so as not to graze hypothermia and my lungs reassemble to adapt to my gills. Thank you Papa Poseidon for this divine passive!  
  
The basin is indeed deep, the first meters show nothing suspicious, there is only this trace of magic that intensifies. The basin is delimited by rocks worn by erosion, the light still passes at this stage of my dive. I arrive at the ten meters of depth and the change begins to happen. The rocks give way to pieces of walls cut in certain places. I swim towards a wall and touch it with my fingertips. Limestone. It is porous, ancient. _  
_I can’t pull any more information from such a worn-out end. I rotate my body with the help of my arms and I resume my dive, the light is becoming more and more rare. My eyes get used to the darkness but a little light wouldn’t be a problem. I wave my wrist and I make appear an orb of white light, my fire is useless here. The light is spreading and if I didn’t have my gills I would most likely have drowned in front of the sick find I just made. The basin extends for another twenty meters of depth, the panels of walls becoming complete walls. I swim faster towards these walls, excited and curious. I get right and hold on to the walls. They are engraved. And painted.

In Egyptian of one side, in ancient Greek of the other, opposite. The Egyptian side is covered with strangely well preserved paintings, transcribing some passages from the Book of the Dead including the weighing of the soul. The Greek side shows Charon and his boat, arriving in the Underworld against an obole.

This basin is definitely home to a grave.  
  
I let myself float in the middle of the water, turning on myself, looking at the walls. It is not possible that a tomb of my world is here.

But there’s only one way to find out. Go to the bottom.

What I do now.

Fifteen meters, ten meters, five meters.

The bottom of the basin is there.

But this is not the real bottom. It is a door on the ground. The door of the tomb. I lay flat, facilitating my excavation. The gate should be about six meters high and four meters wide, mixing Egypt and Greece. There is an inscription in both languages and my heart tightens by deciphering it.  
  
Rhea-Tayet.  
  
I try to use magic to open it, my mana enveloping me and freeing on the door but nothing happens. I try to force the door with my fists, the effect was that blood rushing from my fists into the water. I won’t get anywhere under these conditions. I have to go to the Underworld to find out more. A grave, my grave, in a world other than mine, it’s not normal. My memories, the ones with Damien, but that would seem to concern Julius, it’s not normal.

My life was never normal.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank you all for your support <3 I really love to write this fanfic and I hope you enjoy it! Don't hesitate to comment, it means alot to me <3


	13. Messages and Drinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Messages, excuses and ALCOOHOL TIME!

Recap of Chapter 12

* * *

This basin is definitely home to a grave.  
  
I let myself float in the middle of the water, turning on myself, looking at the walls. It is not possible that a tomb of my world is here.

But there’s only one way to find out. Go to the bottom.

What I do now.

Fifteen meters, ten meters, five meters.

The bottom of the basin is there.

But this is not the real bottom. It is a door on the ground. The door of the tomb. I lay flat, facilitating my excavation. The gate should be about six meters high and four meters wide, mixing Egypt and Greece. There is an inscription in both languages and my heart tightens by deciphering it.  
  
Rhea-Tayet.  
  
I try to use magic to open it, my mana enveloping me and freeing on the door but nothing happens. I try to force the door with my fists, the effect was that blood rushing from my fists into the water. I won’t get anywhere under these conditions. I have to go to the Underworld to find out more. A grave, my grave, in a world other than mine, it’s not normal. My memories, the ones with Damien, but that would seem to concern Julius, it’s not normal.

My life was never normal.

* * *

  
  
_Friday 13 September, Midday_

This morning having been more than intense, I went straight home. Dad was not there, most certainly at work. I’m going to see him this afternoon, and I want to apologize to him for my behavior over the last few days.

A shower and a sandwich preparation later, here I am on my computer, reporting on recent events.

_\- Thursday, 12 September -_

_Use of the Grimoire, Nefertiri spell._

_Medjai invocation successful. Estimated number of days used in exchange: 30 days._

_Purification of the Chronos artifact was successful. Estimated number of days used: 5 days._

_Purification spell on successful Asta. Estimated number of days used: 5 days._

_Result: fainting after taking the vital force, return to the human form._

_Note: see if the spell Lilith can recover days of life.  
  
\- Friday, 13 September -_

_Discovery in the Common Realm of a basin with cascades and ruins._

_The basin is estimated to be 30 metres deep._

_The "bottom" of the basin is actually a double tomb door of 6 meters high and 4 wide._

I stop grasping the report, skeptical. I grab my sandwich from the plate to my right and bite into it. As I chew it, I notice my phone, to the left of the keyboard. I put down my sandwich in exchange for the phone. I unlock it and go to my contact list. At the letter J, a new name has indeed appeared.

Julius.

My finger trembles over the message icon, then I remember my promise. I click on the envelope. How will I write my first message to the Emperor Mage of the Kingdom of Clover? Surely not a "Hi, are you okay? ;)" I would still prefer torture to an assured shame. I’m not even sure that emoticons are his strong suit.

In fact, I know absolutely nothing about Julius, other than his immeasurable love of magic.  
  
 _You think too much, Kat._

I pass my piece of sandwich with beer and I almost suffocate myself by realizing that writing my first text to Julius under the effect of hops is not necessarily a good idea.

_You think way too much, Kat._

And fuck it, man.

I take my phone with both hands and write.

_**"Hello Julius** _

_**As promised, here is a little message to tell you that I am currently at home, typing my report about my scuba dive.** _

_**There is something in there. To my astonishment, it is my grave. In fact, the entrance to my supposed grave, since I have no memory of it being transported to this world during my loooooooooong life. There was my goddess name inscribed on the door. However, no way to open it. I’m gonna have to go to the underworld to find out about it.** _

_**Here you go, you know everything!** _

_**Have a good afternoon!** _

_**Kat."  
  
**_ Send.

I growl, my hands rubbing my hair in the hope of putting my neurons back in place. I have this stupid feeling that I acted like a teenage girl in love sending her first message to her crush.

At the same time, he doesn't leave me indifferent at all. But a man like him wouldn’t flirt with a bunch of problems like me, which is a woman-child.

I grumble once again, conscious of adding problems unnecessarily. I am here to smash Chronos, not to flirt.

I clap my hands on my cheeks, put me on my chair and finish my report.

_\- This tomb seems to be mine._

_Tracks to follow in the Underworld: Eros, les Moires, Hades/ Anubis , Lucifer. Father and Mother, optionally. -_

I save my report when the ringing of my phone rings. The ringing of an arrow is unchecked. A message?

I pick up my phone and my heart misses a beat. I open the message, excited and nervous.

_**"Hello Kat!** _

_**Thank you for keeping your promise!** _

_**This magic coming from the pool was coming from your grave... I’m really curious to know how it got here, and especially why.** _

_**If you intend to go to the Underworld, let me accompany you! We will find more information for two ;-)** _

_**Just let me know when you’re going to go. :-)** _

_**Good afternoon to you too!** _

_**Julius"** _

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

I can’t hold the long shrill cry stuck in my throat. Julius Novachrono, the Emperor Mage, uses smileys! And he wants to accompany me to the underworld! Oh. My. God.

Oh, for fuck’s sake. He's human, he can't accompany me without running any danger, he would be far too tasty for dark creatures and other demons. Unless a dark creature accompanies him... or some other demon.

I materialize my grimoire and murmur "Νοβαφωτία", opening my Cryptex to look at my incarnations. _  
  
Nefertiri, Rhéa-Tayet, Lilith, Kallista, Anja, Katerina – mutant. The 6 available incarnations unlocked in my current life, out of the thousands already lived._

There is a seventh incarnation but it is impossible to see which of my previous lives it acts. There is only one kind of galaxy design in two dimensions, black, white, blue, violet and gold. I just have this vague feeling of discomfort about this drawing, which once again makes me see Nefertiri.

I suppose I could talk to Julius when the opportunity arises.

Nefertiri is the purest form of magic I have, but also the most energy-intensive. Rhea-Tayet must also be, it is my divine form, my first life. I’ll use it as a last resort or to impress the gallery.  
  
Lilith? On Earth, it was my joker. My vampiric form only activated if I received a serious injury and the counterpart was annoying. I had to feed on Damien’s blood to regenerate and regain my human form. Angel’s blood, and more importantly, lover’s blood – at the time - there was nothing better. I don’t even know how I’m gonna do it if I’m in a bad position to become Lilith. According to my Grimoire, the conditions are the same as on Earth. A serious injury and bam! Vampire. It also seems that a sufficiently powerful blood has the power to give me back one day of life per liter of blood consumed.

_I’m not going to bleed a poor soul to death just to get a day of life, if there is one._

Anja? A werewolf in Hell wouldn’t be much use. It is not a demonic form but a hybrid, it is a power coming from mother nature. Perfect to track, subdue or summon an entire pack but be in heat... No need to add to my sexual misery.

Katerina – mutant... The form I got in my current life, in anticipation of Chronos. Take the most dangerous mutant viruses on Earth, inject them into a human goddess and you get an overpowering, uncontrollable humanoid, able to withstand the manipulations and magic of Chronos. The catch? I can’t use any magic, just the inherent capabilities of viruses. The physical transformation was painfully painful, the mental problems caused during the changes were chaotic. No more emotion. No more joy, no more love,no more pain, no more anger. Only the desire to conquer, to kill. Damien, James and Eros struggled to have me fused with this form so that I could regain control. This form will be for the final fight with this Titan of misfortune.

All I have left is Kallista. Superior demon who was at Lucifer’s command before falling in love with an angel and who died in a bloody war against him. This angel was Gabriel/ Damien. At least, a part of me wishes it. If these memories are also false, I will have to argue with the main interested and make him spit the truth in blood and tears.  
  
Kallista is the form I must take to ensure the protection of Julius in the Underworld. A human with immense magical powers is a prey more than prized in the underworld. I will have gone alone, I will not need to take this form, I am a regular of the places but here we speak of the most powerful and the most important man of Clover. He is unknown to the underworld, the only way he can get out of it without too much trouble is to have a superior demon as a chaperone.

Fortunately, even with the centuries that have passed, my demonic authority is no longer to be disputed since during some of my near-death I suffered my resurrection malus and Lucifer himself confessed not to see the difference between human and demon at those times. I still have to support my demonic sovereignty to be sure that Julius will not risk anything.

The problem is that personality change is to be expected if I become Kallista. And that’s what I fear most.  
  
I put my parchment in the Cryptex and close it, dematerializing my book book to put it in its place, my heart. I take my phone again to send Julius one last message.

_**"Ah, by the way, I would like to warn you of a little detail concerning the Underworld... This is not a place for humans and you risk at best being heavily flirted by succubus and at worst, losing your soul and freedom. I’ll have to use my grimoire to chaperone you. The problem is that it’s... my demonic incarnation. I hope you won’t hold that against me.”** _

Sent.

_Sorry, Julius, I can’t be any clearer with you._

I can’t tell the Wizard King that my demonic form is centered on violence, blood, sex and debauchery, and sometimes all at the same time. And I can say even less that these demonic traits of character are my own traits in very exaggerated.

I stretch out on the chair and then I get up and do some tidying up, between my cutlery and my clothes and then teleport to the Black Bull Den.

* * *

As soon as I arrive in the heart of the living room, Yami grabs me by the neck, pinching my mastoid sterno-cleido muscles. I grimace in pain, whining at the same time then I try to excuse myself.  
  
"Sorry, Captain!! I know I upset you! But please, everything but my muscles! You’re going to finish me!" I freeze on the spot, Yami gives me his evil look. In fact, it is he who should protect Julius in the Underworld, not me!

Yami shoots his cigarette and throws the smoke right on my face, the fury slowly dissipates. He releases me.

"You had your reasons to flee, at that moment. You came back, that’s the main thing. Now quickly tell me your real concerns, unless you’d rather talk to the whole company.” Yami tells me, his tone is a little less aggressive.

I nod. I prefer to tell my comrades what is going on. The time for lies on the network is over, I will keep secret only the most... delicate.

By the time we got everybody together, 15 minutes had passed. Vanessa is on the couch, bottle in hand and still in her underwear, Gauche is at the table with Charmy and Grey – always transformed into a giant woman – Magna and Luck are sitting on the tables, Gordon is in the back and Asta is in the chair. Noelle is close to me, but not too close to stick to her brand. Finral is behind us.  
  
“You dirty kids, the shithead wants to talk to you. Listen carefully and avoid making her repeat things forty times.” Tell Yami, arms crossed under his chest.

I lightened my voice. Noelle joins Vanessa on the couch while everyone else is alert.

“My real name is Katerina. Call me Kat.” I pause, pounding my fingers to regain some semblance of trust.

"That’s a really hot name, Kat!" exclaimed Vanessa. I’m smiling.

"I thought you didn’t look like Yuki!" Asta told me, scratching his chin.

"Are you’re stupid or what? How can you tell if a person has the head of its first name?» Says Finral.

"Yuki is like Yami, and Yuki... Well, Kat, she’s not like Yami. So she doesn’t look like Yuki!" Try to explain Asta, shaking his hands to picture what he’s saying.

"Shut up!" Yami.

Finral and Asta will be silent immediately. I resume.  
  
"To make it short for you: I am a goddess with a human soul, my soul is ten thousand years old but my current body is twenty-five, I was cursed during my first life which makes that in a hundred and twenty days I will die, my human body being unable to contain my magic. I was sent here to protect the Wizard King, he doesn’t know, and besides my father you’re the first to know so please don’t tell him anything."

The stupor invades my comrades who seem to have difficulty to digest the overalist information. Might as well add a little more.

"Just one thing, Yami. Finally, two things. The first is that I want to thank you for all you have done for me. The second is that I found what is most likely my grave but it refuses to open, so I have to go to the Underworld via a portal that is in Clover. When the time comes I will need your permission to conduct my research.”

Yami looks wide, perplexed.

"Julius knows all this?"

"Yes, he followed me to the place where the tomb is. I explored the surroundings after his departure and I told him by message. He wants to accompany me in my research.»  
  
He scratches his head and rolls his eyes.

“I recognize old Julius there. If he said that, it’s okay for me.”

"Thank you Captain!" And I jump on his back like a koala on his tree. He is impassive but I feel the anger growing in him. I rub his cortex on the scalp and jump to the ground, taking my distance. Yami gives me a sharp look.

"By the way, on Monday you will go to the capital with Asta, Charmy and Noelle. The Emperor wants to see you following the attack of the capital. In the meantime, you’ll go on a patrol mission with the kids, take advantage of the rest of your day to see your father and take your wheel. I don’t need to punish you anymore."

I’m smiling nervously.

"Yes, sir!"

I sigh. Vanessa stumbles over me and grabs me by the waist with her right arm.

"My dear Kat! Now that you are really in our company of broken arms, would you like to drink with me tonight? We buy a few bottles, Charmy's sheep make us eat and we drink like holes until we forget that life can be a beautiful bitch! What do you think?"

Her smile widens by imagining the scene.

And mine stretches too, attracted by the promise of a beautiful hangover.  
  
"Let me see my father first, let me apologize and let him know for the night. But yes, you’re right, drinking from that slut of life is not going to take days away from me. I'll bring the alcoohol, okay?”

Vanessa jumps on the spot, squeaking with joy. She hugs me tight.

"Tonight, we’re going to have fun! I’m so excited! I’m waiting for you to drink, I promise!"

I give her a hug and then detach myself. A small wave of the hand and I teleport again, in the courtyard of the Infirmary.

* * *

_3 pm_

I’m going through the pockets of my pants looking for my phone to see the time. 3:00 pm. Notification of a message is present, I have a text from Julius. In view of the last message I sent him, my stomach tightens anticipating his response.

_**"Your demonic incarnation? Reassure me, it is safe for your health I hope? I don’t want you to lose more days of life for my protection, and no lies between us, okay?”** _

_**  
  
**_I don’t know if this is his concern or if it’s just the fact of receiving texts from the Wizard King that makes me smile but this situation is not unpleasant to me. I enter the tower of the Infirmary and while I slowly climb the stairs, I quickly type on the screen an answer.

_**"If by dangerous you mean – dangerous to my countdown - the answer is no. The only danger is in my... Character that I have in this incarnation. Promised, I speak the truth!** _

_**Well, wish me luck, I’m in the infirmary, I’m going to see my dad. I hope he will let me live to have an aperitif with the Black Bulls tonight!”** _

Message sent.

I push the door to my father’s office and find him storing his shelves of all kinds of herb containers. The noise draws him from his concentration and he turns to me. He is tired, his eyes are dug, the lines drawn. He puts down his jar and crosses his arms, silently.

_The Spanish dad in all its glory. I’m done._

"Papa, I am not good with words. I would like to repent before you, but not by word. I would like to make you feel and see how sorry I am." I stammer, holding out my right hand.  
  
He gazes at her for a few seconds, walks ahead and takes it with his right hand. It is callous, as I have always known it. And warm.

I inhale deeply, gradually accumulating my magic in my heart. I gather the memories and the emotions that are linked to it, breathe them into my arm, my hand, his hand, his arm, his heart.

I show him everything.

When Chronos trapped me in the astral world, threatening to kill all my loved ones and ruin both worlds. When my reconnaissance spell is activated and the hatred and fear I felt as a result of his threats and the invasion of his henchmen through the Eye of the Midnight Sun. When I used my incarnation to purify the artifact in order to protect it, as well as the people, and Julius. When I had this vision of Julius with Nefertiri, and the doubts that overwhelmed me as I thought I knew my lives. The fear felt when I thought I had disappointed my entourage, and above all, my father. The fear I felt when I told Julius the truth. The fear and anger felt when I discovered my grave in this basin in the heart of the Common Lands forest.

The regret of acting like a kid and the hope of redeeming myself to my father.

I showed him everything.  
  
I break the contact, overwhelmed by emotions. I wipe away some tears that bead in the corner of my eyes, avoiding the look of my father. He tells me nothing, but takes me in his arms, caressing my hair.

"I love you Katerina. I could never blame you, my darling daughter. Now we’re really going to be able to help you break this infernal cycle.”

I sniff loudly, the gates of my dam of tears having broken.

«I love you too, Dad» I answer him, sticking my face in his Mao collar shirt.

"You gonna blow your nose in my shirt or what?" He jokes, rubbing my head with vigor.

My answer is an imitation of me that blow my nose against him. He laughs and recoils, falsely disgusted.

_**Thud!** _

Dad suddenly has a funny smile on his face. "A message from your boyfriend?"

I pick up my phone to see the message I received when my father’s remark finally gets into my brain to analyze it. I was blushing furiously.

"What? No! It’s a message from Julius! Not my boyfriend who doesn’t exist!"

He sits at his desk, giggling slowly.

"Then why are you blushing?"

"Because you know very well that I can't contact my relatives on Earth, that you put the number of the Wizard King in my phone and that you did this dubious joke anyway!"  
  
New sadistic laugh.

"I can see that you like it, Katerina. You’re not going to teach an old monkey to make a face!"

And I grimace at his awkward remark.

"That’s not the point. I’m not here to fool around. I’m here for work, you could say. And in view of my love pedigree, he is out of my reach. I remind you that I had only virgins boyfriends! A man older than me, more experienced, I've got no chance!"

“Just like your mother and I, you and Julius are only 16 years apart. I wouldn’t be shocked if you ended up together.” He said to me innocently, looking at his nails with the left hand casually.

My brain does a quick calculation. My jaw falls.

“42 ? Are you sure? I give him 30!!”  
  
Impossible. Dad is wrong somewhere, it’s impossible that Julius is 42 years old by the look of his face.

“He is 41 years old. He will be 42 years old on October 15.” He corrected me by winking.

Dad laughs when he sees me recording Julius' birthday in my diary as I try to keep a totally impassive face. I’m pulling myself together.

"It doesn't matter. I don't intend to fool around with the Wizard King. And even if I wanted to, I have 0 chances of seducing him with my pre-teen head and my divine problems. Not to mention that I will potentially die in 120 days.”

"And yet your visions seem to show that you have already fooled with him in a previous life. And he wants to help you break your curse!"

I look wide open.

"How do you know he wants to help me?"

His answer is simple.  
  
"Julius and I are sending messages long before your arrival, cariña! Come on, read your message! You can’t keep a Wizard King waiting and wanting to run away from his job by any means possible!"

I laugh when I imagine the scene.

I finally open the message.

_**"A problem of character? Can a demon be worse than a teenager? Or worse than Marx! ;-) In both cases I can manage the situation!: -p** _

_**Don’t worry about your father, everything will be fine. He loves you forever.** _

_**Oh! Are you going to drink with Yami and the others? Can I join you? Please! : -O"** _

I laugh. He’s adorable.

_STOP YOUR STUPID KAT! DON’T FORGET YOUR GOAL!_

I shake my head, putting my ideas back in place. I did not see the tender smile of my father who broods over me with his eyes.

"What’s he telling you?"

I look up to Dad.

"Oh, I explained to him that if he wanted to accompany me to the Underworld, I would have to become Kallista again. I warned him about the change in character and he joked about it, saying I couldn’t be worse than Marx. Then he asked me if he could join the aperitif tonight at the Black Bull. Vanessa offered to cheerfully drink with them, I agreed. You don’t mind?"  
  
He shakes his head, happy.

"As long as you take on your day’s work tomorrow, I have nothing against it. You’re an adult, Cariña!"

I give him a big, happy hug.

"I will go home and prepare everything, in that case! I will also make you dinner tonight, you will have nothing to eat and rest!"

He gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"Go! And don’t forget to answer the message!" He continued, with a final mocking smile.

New transport to the house.

* * *

I am in the kitchen, looking for alcohols to make a good mojito as I like them and then ravishes myself. The message goes first.

_**"Poor Marx! You compare him to a superior demon! : '( I don’t know if I should tell him or not... :-p** _

_**And yes, you had seen right, it went very well with Dad! It’s a hell of a relief...** _

_**You want to join us at the improvised party? Only if you have made good progress in your work, dear Wizard King! ;-D** _

_**But beware, when I am drunk I strongly resemble my demonic form! O:) "** _

And I’m sending the message.

It’s time to get ready, prepare the alcohols and a meal for my father.

* * *

  
  
7 pm

I join the Den , the arms loaded with bags of bottles of alcohol that I bought in the meantime to complete my bowl of mojito, itself in my hands. I push with my back the front door and am welcomed by Vanessa, ready for war.

"Did you bring the provisions?! Great! Let me help you!" Offers me the witch, taking my mojito bowl with her.

"Thank you Vanessa! The alcohol weighs heavily but I wanted to make you test my favorite drink of my world!" I explained, excited.

We put everything to the table and I see that everyone is present, installed on the benches along the wooden tables.

“Ah we see the drunkards ready to start hostilities!” I laugh cheerfully.

"Speak for yourself, you have taken enough to drown an entire regiment!" Retort Yami, probably out of the bathroom after his golden hour.

"Are you kidding me? I just got enough for Vanessa and me!" I’m joking again, winking at my drinking partner.

We set up all the bottles and glasses while Charmy orders her sheep to prepare a feast for us.

I serve the mojito to all adults and actually two non-alcoholic for Asta and Noelle. Yami raises his own glass to make a toast.  
  
"To the worst squad in the Clover Kingdom!"

We raise our glasses in our turn and together we say loud and clear “To the worst squad in the Clover Kingdom!”

And we drink it.

I attack by an one-go, the mojito is so fresh and well dosed that it slides alone in my throat. I emit a noise of intense satisfaction.

"That’s damn good, Kat! What did you put in there for alcohol?" Vanessa, who also did an one-go.

"White rum, sparkling water, cane sugar, mint and lime! Want another one?" I propose to the witch while I serve myself a second drink.

"With great pleasure!" She accepted, holding out her own glass.

I execute myself and give it to her. I turn to Noelle who is on my right.

«How do you like the soft version?»

Noelle dips her lips in her glass and her eyes open. "It’s really not bad! Your world is not too bad, there are good things to drink.”

I smile with all my teeth, delighted.

Asta drinks a glass. "It’s refreshing! I love it!"  
Charmy alternates between drink and fried chicken leg. "You should try chicken, Kat! It goes very well together!" She told me as she handed me a dish of food. I follow her advice and, indeed, it goes very well together. Mint and lemon blend perfectly with juicy and crispy chicken. I melt with pleasure, my left hand on my cheek.

Nero, whom I had not seen for a while, lands on the edge of the bowl and dips her beak in the cocktail. She waved to me with her wing, visibly delighted behind her black plumage.

Gauche is in communication via his mirror with Marie, his little sister. "Kat made a drink called mojito, there’s the non-alcoholic version, I’ll ask her to make some when we meet again, my angel!"

_One more, one more!_

“Yeah, not bad. You don’t smell alcohol, it’s treacherous.” Yami says, satisfied.

"I would love it if there were this cocktail in every bar in Clover!" said Finral.

"It gives a kick! Come and fight Magna!" said Luck, having finished his drink.

"Not tonight, Luck! I’m enjoying the fiesta!" Howls Magna.  
  
“Shuuuuuuuu” Says Grey in a pile of smoke.

“Psspsppspspspsp” whispers Gordon. Unfortunately, I don’t understand the shy poor guy.

Asta gets up and asks me to serve him an extra soft drink for Henry. I prepare one for him and pass it to him. “Hug our favorite goalie for me!”

"Don’t worry Kat! It’s as if it’s done!" Asta says, raising his thumb towards me.

Satisfied, I created a new pack of cigarettes, Winston 100S. Yami gives me a suspicious look. "You could summon cigarettes and you didn’t care?"

Without saying anything, I invoke a second and throw it to him.

"With damages, Captain!"

I light one to go with my drink.

The drinks are chained together with the hours and the cigarettes. I look at my phone, it’s 9:00 pm. And I have a message from Julius.

Vanessa, on my left, and Noelle are looking at my phone. I explain in a few words its usefulness and they are overexcited.

"I’m showing you how to take pictures after my message, ladies! I’m afraid I won’t be able to after that! Already that the alcohol begins to act..."

I open Julius' message.

_**"I can’t wait to see it!!!" I advance my work and I escape as soon as possible!"  
  
**_ I giggle like a high school girl, the alcohol warming my ears.

_**"At this rate, there will be no more mojitoooo!"** _

And I send the message. I then open the camera.

"Ladies, stick with me, I’ll show you what a selfie is!"

Vanessa slides against me, her arm around my waist. Noelle is shyly approaching and since I am right-handed, I pass my arm around her shoulders to take the selfie.

"Say cheese!"

"Cheeeeeeeese!"

**Click.**

I show them the picture and they’re thrilled.

"You look like three great girlfriends! I love it!" Says happily Vanessa.

«This... Phone is really handy!» Noelle comments.

I laugh, proud of myself.

"It’s time to show you another thing from my world... A game of alcohol! But first, I come back, I have to drain." I drink the rest of my drink and go back to the bathroom.

When I came back, Vanessa gave me a refill and I grabbed some food to dry off the alcohol.

"Kaaaaat darling! Tell us what your game is!" Cooes Vanessa, her cheeks blushed by the drink.

My face is getting falsely serious.

"It’s called _never I have ever_ . It’s very simple. Each our turn, we must tell a truth about us in the form of I never, for example _never I have ever stole from a shop_. If someone has already done it, he drinks a sip of his glass, and so on. Easy no?"

"It’s a shot to finish drunk in one round of the table" Notes Yami, visibly ready for the game.

"That’s what a good captain is! It’s also a good way to get to know us!" I reply, excited. "Who wants to play?"

Yami raises his hand, as well as Vanessa, Finral, Magna, Luck and Gordon.

"Asta and Noelle, you can also play without alcohol! On the other hand, you may be shocked according to the statements, it can turn... Kinda pervert!" I warn in my last sober forces.

"I'm a princess, nothing can shock me! I play!" said Noelle.

"I didn’t understand everything but I want to play!" Asta replied, smiling.

"Captain, I will let you begin!" I said, bowing down to Yami.  
  
He thinks for a moment.

“Never I have ever had a hangover after a big night.”

We all drink, except Asta and Noelle. It’s Finral’s turn.

«Never I have ever stole from a shop»

Yami and Magna drink. Vanessa rebels against the poor young man. "Finral! You took up the example of Kat, you have no imagination!"

The interested person blushes “My life is not necessarily thrilling Vanessa!”

I turn to Vanessa. "Don’t worry, doll, we’ll raise the level... I mean, if you know what I mean" I say to her with my most beautiful perverse voice, with a wink.

The witch’s smile widens.

"It’s my turn! So... Never I have ever slept with a stranger."

Yami drinks in his glass. I also drink.

Vanessa looks surprised to see me drinking.

“What, I’m ten thousand years old, right? I’ve done things with it!” I reply, hilarious.

“I WANT TO KNOW!” Vanessa shouts, drunk.

I sigh loudly. "Regarding your statement, I have already slept with several strangers, male and female." I sneer.

“We’ve recruited another phenomenon. I hope your father doesn’t know anything about it!” Yami laughs. “It’s your turn, Kat,” he says.  
  
I think long and hard. Well, not too much, the alcohol is getting stronger and stronger in my head. I can laugh for a few moments, swinging back and forth.

“Never I have ever had an orgasm in my life while having sex.”

Great silence.

Yami, Vanessa, Magna and Luck drink from their drinks.

Vanessa’s insurgent. "Wait, Magna the virgin he just drank from his drink, and you not Kat? Does anyone explain this paradox to me?"

I am giggling.

"I am sure that Magna and Luck they are together! When to me... Alone, I get there but otherwise... In ten thousand years I have never come once! And in this life, if you saw my sentimental curriculum vitae, you would get scared and understand how miserable I am!”

Yami drops his cigarette.

"You really are the most cursed bitch in this galaxy, dammit. You have to find a man who has it in his boxer."

"How could you not have come once when you claim to have slept with strangers?" Vanessa told me, shaking my shoulders.

"Gently beautiful witch, you mix too much the mojito in my body» I answer her, the voice trembling by the shaking. "I don’t know, it’s not because I’ve practiced all these centuries! Even the orgies of a week long it didn’t work!"  
  
Yami is bursting with laughter, I think I see a tear dripping from his eyes.

"Oh, son of a bitch! He doesn’t care about my phenomenal luck!" I whine.

**Thud!**

My attention goes straight to the phone.

Oh! Julius sent me another message!

I open the message, Vanessa spies on me while she hangs on me.

“ _ **You look like you’re having fun! ;-)”**_

I’m startled, surprising Vanessa.

“Are you chatting with the Wizard King Kat? Is this Julius? Are you together or what?” She asks me again, shaking me.

The panic is growing inside me.

I swallow my glass of one drink, alcohol is no longer felt when swallowed. My thoughts are confused.

"Nope my dear Vanessa! It’s my nanny mandated by my dad!" I answer with a child’s voice.

I answer the message, under the gaze of the drunken witch.

_**"Yeeeeeeeees! And the evening is not over! Where do you hide to know that I’m having fun?"  
  
**_ Julius' answer is coming soon.

_**"Aha! That is the question!"** _

"Oh, you dirty bastard!" I yell a little too loudly, surprising my drunken comrades.

The evening continues, the game ends with Magna and Luck off-circuit, drunk and spread out on the couch like a beautiful couple.

I can’t stand it anymore. I want to move, to dance, like on Earth!

"Vanessa! If I put music on, will you dance with me?"

The interested person discards the strands of hair stuck to her face and gives me a sparkling look.

"Yeiiiiiiiiiiii!"

I pull out of my bag a bluetooth speaker I had at my father’s. I configure it as well as I can and look for music that everyone could enjoy.

_Paula Abdul, Cold Hearted. I fucking love this music.  
  
_ I play it.

  
**_He's a coldhearted snake lookin into his eyes_ _  
__Oh, oh he's been telling lies he's a lover boy at play_ **

**_He don't play by the rules oh, oh, oh_ _  
__Girl don't play the fool now_ **

I get up, moving in rhythm with the music. I signal the girls to join me. Vanessa takes my hand, waving her hips. Noelle is more shy but comes anyway. Charmy dances on her cloud.  
  
 ** _You're the one givin' up the love any time he needs it  
But you turn your back and then he's off and running with the crowd  
You're the one to sacrifice, anything to please him  
Do you really think he thinks about you when he's out? _**

I perform the choreography that goes with the music, the one I invented before being sent here. I roll my hips, my arms in the air, my hands slide along my body, I spin and take Noelle and Vanessa by the hand, guiding the threesome dance.  
  
 **_He's a coldhearted snake. Lookin into his eyes._ _  
__Oh, oh! He's been telling lies. He's a lover boy at play._ _  
__He don't play by the rules. Oh, oh, oh!_ _  
__Girl don't play the fool now._ **

I make them twirl gracefully, they laugh, relaxed.

**_It was only late last night he was out there sneakin'._ **

**_Then he called you up to check that you were waiting by the phone._ **

**_All the world’s a candy store, he’s been trick or treatin'._ **

**_When it comes to true love girl with him there’s no one home._ **

I let go of their hand, I take up my dance, ecstatic and free for one evening.

**_He's a coldhearted snake. Lookin into his eyes._ _  
__Oh, oh! He's been telling lies. He's a lover boy at play._ _  
__He don't play by the rules. Oh, oh, oh!_ _  
__Girl don't play the fool now._ **

  
My dance becomes sensual, without being vulgar. Vanessa whistles at me, encouraging me.

**_You can find someone better girl._ **

**_He could only make you cry._ **

**_You deserve someone better girl._ **

**_He’s c-cold as ice._ **

Three steps forward, I twirl, throw my head forward, my hair messy like a tiger. I find again the happiness I had on Earth.

**_Co-co-co-cold hearted ooh, ah, ah._ **

**_Co-co-co-cold hearted sss snake_ **

I take Noelle by the hand, dance with her while guiding her. I advance, she steps back in rhythm, she takes to the game. I whisper the lyrics at the same time, playing the singer.

**_Co-co-co-cold hearted ooh, ah, ah._ **

**_Co-co-co-cold hearted sss snake_ **

I reach Vanessa by the waist, I perform the same steps, eyes in the eyes and put a beak on her lips under the effect of alcohol. She laughs, she teases.

  
  
**_He’s a coldhearted snake. Lookin into his eyes._ **

**_Oh, oh! He’s been telling lies. He’s a lover boy at play._ **

**_He don’t play by the rules. Oh, oh, oh!_ **

**_Girl don’t play the fool now._ **

I shake my head, fingers slipped into the hair, waving from the pelvis. The world revolves around me, the heat rises in my chest.

When will I have a new evening like this? I don’t know. But I might as well enjoy it.

**_He’s a coldhearted snake. Lookin into his eyes._ **

**_Oh, oh! He’s been telling lies. He’s a lover boy at play._ **

**_He don’t play by the rules. Oh, oh, oh!_ **

**_Girl don’t play the fool now._ **

I perform the last steps of the choreography, in trance.

The music stops.

We are applauded.

I feel a familiar mana for a moment. I look up to the floor and see the shadow of an imposing robe pass away.

I’m blushing.

_Julius.  
  
_ I bow like an actress, take two full glasses and go out as quietly as a drunk woman can in the garden. The coolness of the evening makes me feel so good.

I’m going to the back of Vanessa’s garden, between the roses and sitting in the grass. The moon illuminates the surroundings with its gentle rays, the sky is clear, I am overwhelmed.

I drink a sip of mojito and feel the familiar smell of black musk and sandalwood, signature of the magic of the most powerful man in the Kingdom.

"I will not jump this time!" I said to my visitor, in a childlike tone.

The answer is a lively laugh. Julius was well behind me to surprise me.

“You have to get used to it, and alcohol helps!” Julius says, sitting next to me.

I give him the second drink which he gladly accepts.

"Thank you! I was afraid I would be too late." He drank a sip and made a sound of approval.

"It’s really good!"  
  
I am giggling.

"I thought you were already here, Sir Novachronooooo!" I mumble, deliberately frowning, then burst out laughing before drinking half my glass. I spread my legs in front of me, he does the same, putting his weight to his left arm

“How many drinks have you had tonight?” Julius asks me, raising an eyebrow and staring at my glass.

I block a few moments, lost in my thoughts and his amethyst eyes bathed in the blue light of the moon. Whether it is the sun or the moon, this man is angelic in all circumstances. No. Divine.

I have two new stars to admire within his irises, two unexplored galaxies full of promise.

_The stars can get dressed, their brilliance seems weak in front of his!_

"Oh, really?" interrupted Julius, a teasing smile.

My eyes get the size of gigantic saucers when I realize that he is straightened and that his hand is on my shoulder.

I finish my drink by nervousness and my escape seems to be all traced out.

“One drink. I only had one drink tonight.”

Julius laughs.  
  
"A glass filled several times, is that it?"

I nod. I lie in the grass, the earth turns a little too fast for my liking. Julius finishes his glass, crosses his legs and leans on his arms to contemplate the starry sky.

"I hope you had a good evening." He said to me in a gentle tone.

"Hmhm."

“If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t seen anything demonic in your behavior. Everything will be fine, I promise.”

“I will not let any demon touch you, let alone the succubus.”

He laughs slowly.

"Are they more dangerous than you?"

I slip slightly towards Julius, in complete alcohol innocence.

“No demon is more dangerous than me. They’re just classless whores.” I giggle, putting my left arm under my head. I’m pulling grass strands out of my right hand.

  
  
"Should I be wary of you then?" Julius asked me, turning his head towards me to observe my answer. He has an indecipherable smile on his lips and mine form a small O.

“The drunk philosopher in me would tell you to beware of anyone who mistrusts themselves. In my case, yes.” I answer him with a sad smile.

He looks down, skeptical. His hand touches mine, my heart is about to explode.

_It’s just a coincidence._

But his hand touches mine again, to finally land next to it, his little finger stuck to mine.

_At the same time, I almost stuck to him like a mussel on its rock. The poor guy has no space._

Julius is choking a laugh.

I realize my mistake again.

I thought about it.

He initiated just before physical contact.

I startle, stand up and act as if nothing had happened, unbridled by the situation. He also gets up, calm as usual. I’ll get the glasses.  
  
«I... I’m going to take this inside and then I’m thinking about going home and sleeping in the warm. Uh...»

I stammer, blushing from head to foot, the steam surrounding my head again.

"Fuck my magic." I moan, fulming.

Julius approaches me and puts his fresh hand on my forehead, taking my temperature. It is so nice, the temperature difference is delicious. He looks falsely anxious, rather amused, his eyes slightly pleated and shining with a thousand lights.

_Don’t think, don’t think, don’t think! Fuck, I thought I shouldn’t think._

“Yes, you need rest. Go home to sleep, we’ll have plenty of time to talk by message, and see you Monday in the capital.”

_Thank you for not making the comment out loud._

He smiles and removes his hand.

"Good night, _Katerina_." He told me, insisting on my name, which sounds delightfully good to my ears. I retain a chill of pleasure.

«Good night, _Julius »_ I answer him a little too sweet for my own good.

Alcoohol is a good excuse tonight.


	14. Nefertiri and Katerina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Using an incarnation from the Cryptex unlocks the possibility of discovering the truth about her life.  
> But is Katerina really ready to face the truth?  
> WARNING: Violence, Blood, Angst

Aether’s POV

Kat slept with her fists closed in her queen-sized bed, snoring gently. Aether watched her from her office chair. The Primordial God was in doubt. Should he gradually wake up the young woman’s true memories and risk her mental health, or should he leave her in ignorance and risk her life once more?

Unfortunately, Chronos’s sinister plans left him little time to prepare her for the final battle on Earth and on Clover and the countdown even less. But to be able to open her sunken grave, Katerina had to unlock the seventh spell of her Cryptex-Grimoire and this required to fully recover her memories of her past lives.

Kat waved, rolling on her back and separating from her sheets because of the heat. Aether held his breath for a moment, fearing to have awakened him by his presence.

_I erased my magic, she just has to dream, she always had heavy sleep and motionless._

_  
  
_The young woman’s snoring changed into a sort of purr, her chest moving at the rhythm of her breath. A ray of the moon illuminated her face and Aether was lost in his contemplation.

_She is so peaceful, so vulnerable. And yet so strong._

"Julius..."

Aether jumped off. He knew that Kat could speak in her sleep, but hearing Kat pronouncing Julius's name move something inside him, especially as a little smile was drawn on her lips when she whispered it. The man slowly approached her and sat on the edge of the bed, taking care to distribute his weight so as not to disturb the sleeping beauty’s sleep. He noticed that the tank top, a little too wide, let her chest escape and, blushing behind his mask, he carefully put the fabric back in place.  
He noticed a second thing: the tattoo on Katerina’s right thigh. A phoenix unfolding a wing, hidden under her shorts, and perched on a dreamcatcher representing the three cycles of the moon, and a tree of life lodged in the central full moon, completed by the fluffy feathers stopping just above the knee.

She didn’t have it in his memory.

_It is a work of art. I am curious to see the wing of the phoenix but it will be for another time._

Unconsciously, Kat stretched out her right arm along her body, her hand caught Aether’s and she let go a sigh of contentment. The God stiffened himself for a moment before taking his breath.

The smile painted on Kat’s face grows imperceptibly, as if it permeates her warmth.

And that was enough for Aether, enough for him to finally make his decision.

With his left hand, the man invoked the Katerina's Grimoire, leaving her chest to materialize above her.

  
  
_"Νοβαφωτία"_

The cylinders of the Grimoire activated and the parchment unfolded throughout the room in a purple and golden halo. Aether took an inspiration. He moved a strand of brown hair that covered the young woman’s forehead, while smothering her with his eyes.

Aether slipped his hood into his back, removed his mask and in a burst of tenderness and sadness, he leaned over and laid a sweet kiss on Katerina’s forehead.

_I hope you’ll forgive me, my Goddess_.

He then readjusted his outfit, again concealing his identity. The man drew the scroll until he stopped at the incarnation of Nefertiri. He reluctantly dropped Katerina’s hand and with it, he concentrated his magic, a bluish light emanating from it.

He infused the incarnation with his mana and the Cryptex reacted immediately. The first invisible bolt jumped, the train of truth could finally start.

* * *

  
  
??? POV

_The sun was rising on Thebes, city of the gods on Earth. It gradually illuminated the city, and awakened the inhabitants who were all preparing to leave, not to the fields or cultures, but to the preparation of the most awaited feast of the season: the feast dedicated to Isis, wife and sister of the great god Osiris. The sun’s rays reached the palace where Seti I and his daughter, Nefertiri, lived. The brightness of the day lit the princess’s room, asleep in the white linen sheets that warmed her from the frigid cold of the night. A light stream of warm air caressed the young woman, who breathed before opening her eyes. She stretched her whole length then rose, before heading to the balcony. Nefertiri breathed deeply, calmly, and watched the magnificent city as it prepared for the feast. She was already imagining, dancing with the other priestesses of Isis... She imagined the great banquet, the intervention of the goddess, the joy on the faces of the citizens... But a noise drew the young woman from her dreams.  
  
She turned around and saw her faithful servant, Kayla, enter her room, whom she considered more like her sister than a servant. Kayla was only two months younger than Nefertiri. Her hair was black, curly, and reaching her neck. Her matte skin was oiled because like all the servants of Nefertiri, she had a treatment almost equal to that of the princess. Kayla was also barely smaller than the princess, and had golden eyes._

**But.. It’s Erika! It’s her previous life! Why do I relive Nefertiri’s life... My life?**

_She held in her hands a bowl of various fresh fruits, mangoes, bananas, Nile Valley dates, pineapples, coconuts, which she placed on the marble table. Kayla filled the golden cup with sweet nectar that she placed in the same place. As she was about to retire, the princess said to her:_

_"My dear Kayla, why don’t you stay and have breakfast with me? You know I can’t eat all this..."_

_"But Princess, the servants do not have to eat the food intended for Isis’s daughter..._

_"Need I remind you that you’re not just my maid? We were raised together, and I consider you more like my sister than just a servant."  
  
Kayla sketched a smile and sat on the bench in front of the marble table with Nefertiri. Kayla took a piece of pineapple, the acid juice of which made her laugh, before drinking the sweet nectar. Nefertiri, who had been squinting on the mango for five minutes, stopped to jump on it, and with restraint, took the fruit before biting into the juicy flesh. Her behavior triggered the hilarity of Kayla, who also made the princess laugh. They both greatly appreciated the moments when they found themselves on an equal footing, and not from a Princess-servant perspective._

_After breakfast, Nefertiri crossed the halls of the palace, adorned with golden statues and precious stones that shone with the glow of torches. She arrived in the open-air pool, in the part of the palace reserved for the company women, the princess’s followers and the servants. The four women, who were fooling around in the water like children, turned around and warmly greeted the Princess who lay on her belly at the edge of the pool._

_She looked at her reflection: her golden honey-colored skin was perfect, her mouth thin, the color of a rosebud, her brown and blue cup eyes were, according to her father and the others, bewitching and mysterious, just like the eyes of her late mother. Her thought was disturbed by the splashing of water from her companions.  
  
"Come on, Nefer!" The water is delicious you should come!_

_"Come! Or else Sebek who will bite your ass to shoot you in the water!" Laughs the twin sister of Eylis, Tila._

_"It’s okay you won me" Said Nefertiri, with a corner smile._

_The princess rose, her long black hair running down her back to her hips. She slipped her white dress to the ground, revealing a harmonious body to make damned any human who would kill themselves to be so. The young woman entered the water and plunged, wetting the two sisters, hilarious. Nefertiri came to the surface, causing an explosion of laughter which she did not understand at the moment. Tila approached her to remove the water lily on her head, showed it to the Princess who smirked before thanking her. Nefertiri split the water with agility until the moment Kayla appeared in front of the basin, to announce the program of the day._

_"The great Scribe wants to give you a course on diplomacy, then in the afternoon you have the rehearsal for the parade of the Festival, you will have sewing workshop and..."_

_"In the afternoon I would have nothing, cut Nerfertiri. "And the Scribe will have diplomacy lessons without me... If it is not the disease that will carry me away it will be his soporific words! I have well the intention therefore to go to repetition... And to go see my father to see if he will see me for the big finale."  
  
"As you wish, Princess, but what should I say to the Scribe and the Master Tailor?"_

_"Tell them... Tell them that I am too indisposed to come... if they do not believe me, tell them that I do not have that to do! The sewing is just a pastime as a housewife, and I am not made to be married," objected the Princess, in the blink of an eye._

**My heart clenches to this scene of the past. I was never meant to be married, I’m not even sure I’m worthy of loving and being loved...**

_Nefertiri went out of the water, put on her dress which was like a second skin, then went to get her daggers which she hung on her thighs to go and train._

_Once changed, the Princess went to the stable and rode her black stallion, like an amazon. She crossed the whole city to enter the desert, to join her father in the oasis of Denderah._

_A slight wind lifted up the burning sand, whipping the face of Nefertiri who protected his eyes with his arm. The thirst was felt, and unfortunately the water supplies had been exhausted, so she had to hurry to Denderah. The young woman ordered the horse to gallop, but he could not run more quickly, also torn by thirst.  
  
The gods were to be with the Princess, for the Oasis appeared before the travellers. Joy seized the young woman, burning because of the burning heat of the desert, thirsting for the heat and lack of water._

_Nefertiri entered the oasis, the shade of the dates and other trees offering her a little freshness. And she went down from her horse, and tied it to the water, and let him drink, and did likewise. The fresh and transparent liquid quenched his thirst, more than important. The young woman sprayed her face with water, got up and entered the lush jungle._

_Nefertiri walked, gazing with admiration at the local flora, with its immense and colorful flowers, its fruit trees with crumbling branches under the weight of their fruit and its intoxicating smells. Twitching drew the Princess from her bliss, who now climbed a tree with the agility of a feline and watched silently. The young woman saw her father and executed a salto to find herself in front of him, who did not move an inch. Seti I approached his daughter and took her in his arms._

_"Your habit of breaking my rules makes me not surprised to see you here, my daughter..."_

_"And I’m here, and I wanted to know if you’d be there for my party finale."_

_"Of course I would be there, it’s an important day for all of Egypt, and it’s also your first appearance in the form of Isis. I must also warn you of the arrival of an eminent Greek Prince, he must arrive tonight a little before the ceremony, try not to be too... Shy. Now go, Jayden will go with you."  
  
At these words, Nefertiri retraced her steps, heeled by Jayden. This soldier was the soldier who had the most esteem for Pharaoh, and Pharaoh had the most confidence in him. He also knew Nefertiri since birth, having been four years older than her._

**Or how my divine cousin James can bring his body back to the state of a child just to watch over me.**

_They returned to the point of water when a strange cracking disturbed them. Jayden drew out his sword and beckoned Nefertiri to stand behind him. She reluctantly executed when she felt an unfriendly presence. She turned around and saw a bandit, followed five other thieves, wearing curious badges. Immediately she pulled her curved daggers on her thighs and followed a series of fairly simple attacks to avoid to test her enemy._

_He dodged all her blows and swiftly, he carried a blow that Nefertiri avoided by doing a back flip. When she landed, she closed her eyes and attacked her attacker with a deadly blow to the abdomen. The thief fell to the ground, bathed in his blood_

_._

_"Are you all right, Princess?" Blew Jayden, his arm covered in blood._

_"Yes, thank you… But I should ask you, you got hurt!"_

_"Oh, that? It’s not my blood. When I killed one of the bandits, the blood spilled on me… I would clean that up. In the meantime, I will escort you to the city."_

_"Do not worry, I will return to Thebes alone. But you, go and tell my father, to avoid a possible counter-attack. We don’t know if there are any other mercenaries around."_

_Nefertiri searched the corpses to take one of the badges that had piqued her curiosity. A clepsydre with the sand in the lower part. The princess slipped a badge into a fold of her tunic._

_  
  
_**A clepsydre? This is the insigna of Chronos! Originally... No. In my recollection, it was the insignia of Seth, not of Chronos.**

_Nefertiri left Jayden, returning to her horse. She held her daggers to her thighs and then climbed onto her horse, causing him to pitch up with pride._

_Arriving at Thebes, Nefertiri passed through the veins of the City to see how the preparations were progressing. It was almost noon when the Princess felt the smell of delicious food escaping from the taverns. Her stomach growled, so she let herself be tempted by a tavern. But before entering it, a cry drew her attention: that of a woman, who begged a treasurer not to put her on the street, she and her children._

_"We have only this stall and this house, do not take away the little that we have left!" Implored the mother of the family._

_"It is the least of my worries, the laws are the laws, and the laws of Pharaoh are indisputable!"_

_The children wept more beautifully. Nefertiri saw that the stall was adorned with lotus flowers, her favorite flower. The memories came back to the surface of her memory, and she was persuaded that this mother had sold her a flower years ago. The Princess intervened.  
  
"The laws of Pharaoh, my father, are indisputable, but just like me he would refuse to rob honest workers and mothers of what they have. Erase his debts, or I’ll have you thrown into the royal dungeons," the Nefertiri whistling in her teeth._

_"I... I would take back your insult, Pharaoh’s daughter or not!" Spits the treasurer, turning his heels._

_The young heiress stared at him, then focused her attention on the family. She jumped off her horse, and helped up the fallen stall._

_"Thank you very much, Princess... My children and I are eternally grateful to you," the woman bowed down with tears in her eyes._

_"Stand up, just as you will stand up every time. These flowers are my favorite... So, to help you, and to make me happy too, I’d buy all your lotus stock all the weeks"_

_The children ran towards the Princess, whom she took in her arms. These people deserved to earn money, and sometimes it was worth having too many in her coffers. The mother recalled her kids, who offered her their most beautiful flower. Nefertiri smiled warmly at the woman before grasping the bridle of her steed and heading to the tavern._

_A shiver ran through the princess when she felt a presence watching her, at the corner of the street, but she did not seem hostile, just curious. She would keep this feeling in a corner of her head but the most important now was to sustent._

_The tavern was crowded and the food smelled the atmosphere. The owner of the tavern, whom she knew well, bowed before leading her to a table away. She ordered her meal, swallowed it in less than 10 minutes, paid the bill and returned to the palace for the rehearsal.  
  
The rehearsal completed, Nefertiri, exhausted but satisfied, walked to the bathroom where was waiting a marble bathtub filled with donkey’s milk. She undressed before being immersed, a sigh of pleasure punctuating the gesture. The young woman closed her eyes and enjoyed each second spent in the bath. Her muscles, sore by all the tensions accumulated during the day, were instantly broken._

_The journey to the oasis, the attack of the brigands with the strange insignia, the corruption within the very officials of the Pharaoh, the curious sensation of being observed, everything dissolved and purified in the bath._

_She spent half an hour like that, before going out and hanging a towel around her waist. The Princess tied her hair tangled in a bun and Kayla entered the room. She held in her hand a bottle of perfumed oil which she delicately poured on Nefertiri, who spread it with a gesture._

_Once this action had passed, Nefertiri sat in front of the mirror and began to unravel her long hair, a stain that would have taken her a long time if Kayla had not been there. Kayla braided certain locks with golden threads, sublimating the hair. She planted behind her ear the lotus offered by the little ones earlier in the afternoon._

_Then, the Princess took out an ivory box belonging to her mother where was makeup, gold jewelry, brushes, and underlined her black kohl look, mystifying even more her look. She also wore lipstick. This finished stain, Nefertiri, still wearing her towel, walked a light step towards the clothes that were to be her dance outfit. She looked at her happily before removing her towel. She put on a light cloth to cover her intimacy before bending her waist with a golden veil. The young Princess took in her hands the top, which would support her chest. She attached it to her and chose from the ivory box the two arm bracelets in the shape of a snake, the two cords to tie them under her knees, an ankh collar and a gold mask, covering the top of her face. Once dressed and dressed, Kayla looked at the Princess, all dressed in gold, before telling her:  
  
"You really look like a goddess, women and men will admire you..."_

_"Thank you Kayla, but I would never be equal to a goddess, I am far too disobedient to my father" Nefertiri joked._

**And yet... You indeed are a goddess. A goddess cursed with a human soul. But you never knew it, in this life.**

_Nefertiri confided to her friend the golden chains that she would use for the final part of the procession, before leaving to join the procession. By the way, she saw her father walking towards her, and he thought that she looked very much like his late wife._

_To the rhythm of the music, the first dancers executed acrobatic figures in the streets. The procession had begun and all Thebes were present to attend this parade. Nefertiri danced with the grace of a swan and the flexibility of a panther. Her long hair flew around her, a passionate aura seemed to hover in the atmosphere._

_The young woman passed before a blond man, with an amethyst gaze as deep as the starry sky. He released the same aura that she had felt in the streets of Thebes, an aura transcending her being. She could not help noticing the stranger who followed her all along, up to the place of the temple of Isis._

_Nefertiri then stopped, took her chains, coated them with oil, set them on fire, and began her last dance. Isis’s dance. The young woman twirled the chains over her, precise and wild. The weights at the end of the chains then passed along her body, the flames licking the ground, flitting on her sides then over her head and Nefertiri skillfully arched. The choreography continued, the high priestess Isisemkheb undertook the offerings. The last, an animal sacrifice, burned with a blue fire. Cries arose from all sides, Nefertiri observing around her, and noticed that the stranger seemed deeply disturbed, before leaving._

_  
  
_**Julius... you understood that something was wrong before you even met me. What did I do to make your life take this turn?  
**

_*Ellipse*  
_

_Nefertiri carried her hand to her belly, the warm blood flowing in abundance. She collapsed on the ground, helpless as Julius fell on his knees, a bloody dagger in his hand. His amethyst eyes replaced the icy blue that poisoned him and, returning to his senses, realized the scene with horror.  
_

_He had stabbed her. He had led her straight to death. Her, the only woman who knew how to steal his heart. The only woman he had fallen madly in love with._

_Julius' gaze lost all will, all light, clouded by tears of rage._

_A shadow came out of the darkness and the Princess saw a man with long white hair, with a clepsydre in pendant. The Titan Chronos._

_Chronos advanced towards Nefertiri and whispered in her ear, while fixing the Greek Prince. "The three of us will find ourselves in another life... I am the true God of Time, I am extremely patient. I will pick you at your peak, beautiful goddess. And this time, you will be the one to kill your beloved, leading me directly to him."_

_The Princess uttered one last rattle before joining Death. Julius screamed like a devil in despair and stuck the dagger straight into his own heart, taking the hand of the one he had killed._

* * *

_  
  
_I scream when I see the reality of this life. I scream when I see Julius taking his own life.

I scream again and again and again, cursing my destiny, cursing my lineage.

I scream at me to break my voice, I no longer see the dream of reality.

My whole body makes me suffer, my magic screams, driven by its will to be used for destruction. The destruction of Chronos.

And once again, everything is confused around me, the scene of fear is frightened, leaving only room for darkness.

**Tu-dum**

**Tu-dum**

**Tu-dum**

Heartbeats

**Tu-dum**

**Tu-dum**

**Tu-dum**

These are mine.

**Tu-dum**

**Tu-dum**

They are slowing down.

**Tu-dum**

Am I going to die again?

**Tu...dum**

My Grimoire appears, its light pierces the darkness. And out of the scroll comes a beautiful woman, a ghost of the past. Her long black hair is floating around her, her eyes are staring at me, filled with sadness and rage.

"Nefertiri"

She makes a smile, despite her pain.  
  
"Katerina. Now you know all about this life that we have had. Will you like me forget this immense sorrow? Or are you going to use it as a force to break our cycle of reincarnations?"

She stretches her arms on either side, revealing the wound to her abdomen that was fatal to her. I open my mouth to answer her but another reality strikes me.

_My soul is incomplete and..._

"And you lived those memories as a spectator, as Katerina. You didn’t feel them as if they really belonged. As long as you don’t accept your goddess ancestry, your human and divine nature will fight to take over." Nefertiri completes my thought, understanding.

I look down, thinking. My throat is contracting.

"I am weak as a human being. But this humanity can help me if I decide to sink on the side of the goddess. I will not hesitate to lose my humanity if it allows me to save Julius."

I said to her, my gaze filled with the same rage as that of my previous incarnation.

"But you must not make the same mistakes that I made. That we made. Seeking power is one thing, but don’t lose sight of the main one. Stay alive. For your loved ones, for you, for the man we love. This is my last piece of advice. Go and fight."

* * *

  
  
**119**

**Saturday 14 September, 7 am**

**Beep beep beep**

Damn alarm clock.

I growl when I hear the strident ringing of my phone which tells me that a shitty day is announcing for me.

I try to open my eyes but they are stuck by my own tears. I rub them, manage to open them and then deactivate the alarm. I sit in bed with my legs folded and my head on my knees.

I try to regain my senses, breathing deeply, slowly. The panic attack is avoided.

I wrinkle my nose when a familiar smell tickles my nostrils.

_Black musk and sandalwood..._

I head to the bathroom to freshen up with a nice cold shower in five minutes flat. I look in the mirror above the sink.

I can hardly see.

My eyes are swollen and blushed by tears, I have dark circles and drawn lines.

_I hope Yami sends me on a combat mission, I need to vent._

I go back to my room to dress and I opt for a high-waisted black pants, a black tank top and my Doc Martens with his pair of socks, and comfortable sports underwear, a sports bra and briefs.  
  
I go down to the kitchen for my morning coffee, my father is obviously awake.

"I’ve already made your cariña coffee." He told me, rising from his chair. He hugs me, my nerves calm down in his embrace.

"If you want to talk about it, I’m here." Dad goes on, accepting my silence.

I’m holding him tight.

"The truth is just painful to accept. I just got the real version of my life as Nefertiri."

I release my hug, slip out of my father’s arms and then go drink my coffee at the kitchen table.

My mind wanders in the garden and I don’t see my father playing on his phone for some reason.

I drink my coffee in one gulp, ignoring the burn caused by the liquid. I get up, take my Black Bull cloak, kiss my father’s cheek and go to the garden, levitating above the ground.

"You are not teleporting today?" he said to me, having accompanied me on the terrace.

"I need some air, literally. See you tonight!" I answer him, then I fly to the Base.

* * *

The usual hustle and bustle of the Black Bull is a bowl of fresh air for my cursed soul and, thanks to the watered feast of the day before, no one questions me about my face as a corpse. Of course, I do not deceive Yami’s vigilance and his Ki-reading skills, but he is kind enough not to ask me any questions. In exchange, he sends me for my greatest happiness on a combat mission on the edge of the Diamond Kingdom with Asta and Noelle.  
  
My two comrades, not knowing how to fly, will make their first trip on my back.

Before their amazed eyes, I turn into a giant phoenix, red and gold.

"WOAAAH Kat you're amazing!" Shouts Asta, his jaw brushing against the ground.

Noelle, her, is gawking.

"Can... Can I touch your feathers, Katerina?" She ends up asking me, blushing.

"Of course, I don’t burn, contrary to appearances" I answer her, inflating my feathers out of pride.

She performs and carries her hand on my wing. I like it when someone scratch my feathers. Her smile enlarges and her eyes sparkle.

"It’s so smooth!"

"You’ll have plenty of time to feel my feathers on my back, ride, young ones!"

They sit on my back and hang on as best they can. Their weight is not an obstacle to my ascent and even less to my progressive speed thrust. In a quarter of an hour we arrive at the border. I land high on a hill and I get back to my original form.

"Let’s take stock. A group of Diamond soldiers are going to intrude into Clover through the border and we have to neutralize them and then capture them. Is that right?" I ask the two teenagers, stretching me along.

"Right. After the recent events, the Wizard King wishes to make undergo an interrogation to all those who could be connected from near or far to the Eye of the Midnight Sun." Noelle answers me, who crosses her arms under her chest.

"I thought I was killing some enemies today, I confess to being disappointed." I whine, feigning an expression of pure disappointment.

"Kat? Have you ever killed people?" Suddenly asks me Asta in complete innocence.  
  
The question takes me by surprise. I look down a few seconds before looking at Asta, determined.

"Not in my current life. I’ve only killed magical creatures. But in my other lives, I’ve killed so many that I can’t remember the exact number. If I have to kill human beings to protect my loved ones, I will do so without regret."

My frank answer makes my two young comrades think.

A noise takes us from our thoughts and I wave to Asta and Noelle to bend down. Below, a group of dozens of Diamond soldiers cross the road towards the capital. I use my senses to spy on their conversation.

"His Eminence has been warned that a Gate is at Raquey, we must get there as soon as possible and bring the Titan back." Said one of the soldiers.

"I really don’t like this story. Bringing down the Clover Kingdom is one thing, bringing back a creature from another world is another. We risk our skin." Continues another soldier.

I feel a hand resting on my arm.

_"Katerina, what’s going on?"_

_"Way too many things, Princess. We did the right thing. Stay here in support, these guys are dangerous, I’m going down."_

_  
  
_**Noelle POV**

When Katerina asks us to bend down, I don't understand why until I see her usually cheerful face take on a threatening look. She reaches out to surprise the conversation of the group of soldiers below.

Very quickly, the features of his face harden, her eyebrows frown and her eyes ignite.

I look at Bakasta and he’s worried too.

I carry my hand on Katerina’s arm, remembering her telepathy technique. She turns to me.

_"Katerina, what’s going on?"_

_"Way too many things, Princess. We did the right thing. Stay here in support, these guys are dangerous, I’m going down."_

My heart accelerates under pressure. Katerina rises, cracks her knuckles eand dives from her perch, right on the group of soldiers. Bakasta joins her after having drawn his two anti-magic swords from his Grimoire.

Katerina attacks a first soldier with a heel in the head, accelerated by her descent. He ends up on the ground, unconscious. Her speed increases when she dodges a spell thrown in her back then counterattacks with a punch in the jaw of the second soldier, then a knee-jerk jumped into his stomach. She finishes it by knocking him with a stroke of the slice of her hand in the neck.

All I can do is keep my mouth shut about Katerina and her hand-to-hand combat skills surpassing the magical abilities of Diamond’s soldiers. I can’t use my magic properly but she... she only uses her brute strength and intelligence to undo them.  
  
Bakasta, when to him, against with his swords the spells thrown in burst on him, his swords crossed in front of him. Another soldier is about to cast a fire spell behind his back. I wave my wand, concentrate my mana and throw an aquatic sphere that misses my target.

I yell at Asta to be careful, in a moment of extreme panic. Katerina hears me first and throws herself at a superhuman speed on the ball of fire, stopping her with one hand. The brunette gives me a wink and her eyes ignite again.

Her fingers play with the soldier’s spell. She amplifies it, increasing its size, then sends it back with a tenfold power. The soldier is thrown against a tree and faints.

The fight has only started five minutes ago and there are only three soldiers left to fight, including the leader of their group. He walks towards Katerina, a bad smile on his lips.

"I was warned that the Titan’s offspring would come to stop us, but I didn’t think she would be as beautiful as she was dangerous." The soldier told her, his voice full of malice.

"A rose is much more beautiful when its thorns are numerous." Instantly answers Katerina, totally straightening up in front of this scum.

"And it is for this reason that we must tear them from her to be able to pick her without risking a break." He resumes, sneaky.

One of the two remaining soldiers disappears. I feel a threatening aura behind me and when I turn around, I see Diamond’s soldier ready to attack me. I scream, brandishing my wand to attack it but I stumble and fall into the void. The feeling of falling is terrifying. I close my eyes, scared.

Then a pair of powerful arms catch me. I open my eyes and see Asta, smiling, reassuring.

"Gotcha!"  
  
The heat invades my cheeks. I would like to throw my arms around his neck but what would he say if I did so? I am a princess! I have an image to maintain!

I jump out of his arms and move away, embarrassed to the highest point.

"I guess I should thank you, Bakasta."

He laughs with his eyes closed.

He is so sweet.

I hear a deaf rumble.

I look at Katerina and my eyes grow like saucers.

Her murderous aura invades her entire being, enlarging into dark purple and golden scrolls, thickening the atmosphere and making it suffocating.

This is the first time I’ve seen a mana as threatening as Yami’s. No. It’s even more dangerous than our captain.

"Asta. Take care of these two bastards. I’ll teach their ridiculous leader how much it costs to touch my loved ones." Katerina growls, her muscles contracting and increasing in volume under her clothes.

"Yes, sir!" replied Asta, lifting his swords to heaven, ready to fight.

Katerina slowly advances towards the leader of Diamond’s soldiers, the earth sinking at each of her steps. Her murderous aura continues to increase, reaching three meters high, then five, then seven. The sneaky smile of the leader dissolves while that of Katerina enlarges, her eyes full of rage. She looks like my wild and bestial cousin Mereoleona.

Her short hair floats around her, her well-defined muscles pulsate under her skin.

The chief is tetanized.  
  
Katerina grabs him by the collar and makes a movement, she throws him so hard on the ground that he spits blood, the earth sinks under his body. She sits on the man and alternates the punches in the face, laughing more beautiful, the eyes revulsed.

I don’t know what happened between yesterday and today, but Katerina is not in her normal state. She doesn’t intend to let their leader live.

I hear the bones of his victim’s face shattering under each of his blows. Nose, jaw, teeth. They break in a sinister crack.

I have to intervene.

"Creation Magic: Sea Dragon’s nest!"

I encompass Katerina in my spell, brutally separating her from the fallen soldier from the first moment. I enter the aquatic dome and, without thinking, throws me on Katerina’s back, pressing her against me. She is stiff, burning, breathless.

_"Stop, please! Come back to us!"_ I’m trying to reach her telepathically.

Her rattle is jerky, wild. She clenches her fists so hard that her knuckles whiten, her nails pierce her palms, blood flowing to the ground.

_"Everything is fine, Katerina. We are both fine, Bakasta and I. Don't blame yourself."_ I persist. I don’t want the first woman who ever understood me to get lost in rage and remorse.

_"Let’s go back to Base together. Everyone is waiting for us. Everyone is waiting for you. Don’t forget your father."_

Her body relaxes. Her moans calm, her hands relax. She slips to the ground, taking me with her. Her head falls forward like a disarticulated doll.

_"Thank you Noelle. Thank you for being here. Thank you, my dear Princess."_

_  
  
_**Katerina’s POV**

This little girl has incredible courage. She didn’t hesitate to throw herself at me to contain me.

After I came to my senses, I asked her to dissolve her spell above me to water me, to lower my body temperature.

We subsequently obstructed the soldiers and I cauterized the wounds of their leader whose face was reduced to sausage by my fault.

The worst part about this is that I have no regrets in my heart. I just wish Asta and Noelle weren’t here to see my goddess nature.

I teleported us all to the Capital, throwing the soldiers into the courtyard of the Magic Knights Headquarters. Marx arrived at a mad speed, accompanied by Knights of the Silver Eagle.

"Miss Bellafotia, have you already finished your mission?!" The blue mushroom exclaimed, stunned.

"I have no time to waste. Ask them, Marx, they have information of vital importance. Work them to the body before I decide to use torture." I reply coldly, a little too unfortunately.

The advisor displays the space of a moment an indecipherable expression but agrees. As a sign of his hand, he orders the Knights to take the prisoners with them to the dungeon.

I’m about to turn my heels when Marx challenges me again.

"What happened to their leader, Katerina?"  
  
I'm sighing.

"He... he just acted like a cheat. And I just acted impulsively. End of story."

I reach out to my young comrades.

"Come on, let’s go back to Base."

They take one hand from me and I teleport us to the Black Bull.

* * *

After dropping off my comrades, I returned to the bassin where my grave is. I need to think alone.

I lay down on the block of cut stone and let myself be rocked by the water of the waterfall, eyes closed.

These reminiscences and revelations completely turned my brain.

I can’t even tell the difference between my life as Katerina and my divine life anymore. And now I’m losing control in front of Noelle and Asta.

What would happen if I were to lose control in front of my father or Julius?

_I’ll just have to desert the country and become an outlaw._

The smell of black musk and sandalwood is felt again. My heart is accelerating. I fear to open my eyes.

I freeze for a few minutes, or forever, I don’t know.

The fragrance never leaves my nose.

_If I open my eyes, I’m gonna have to assume a conversation that I don’t necessarily want to have._

"I know you’re pretending to be asleep, Kat." Sound the cheerful voice of the man who occupied my dreams.

I’m opening my eyes.

Julius.

He smiles kindly at me.

**Tu-dum  
** Tu-dum  
Tu-dum

I feel Nefertiri synchronizing with me. I feel her love for this man.

And I feel my distress skyrocket. I feel my own weakness.

It’s love that killed them. I won’t make the same mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for waiting for this chapter!  
> I have had difficult times, whether it is to write this chapter or simply in my personal life. My personal introspection is felt in this chapter, sorry in advance!


	15. Love and Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, that escalated quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was absolute hell to write, so bear with me lmao  
> If you enjoyed it, just let me know, it soothes my little heart and gives me strengh 😘

_After dropping off my comrades, I returned to the pool where my grave is. I need to think alone._

_I lay down on the block of cut stone and let myself be rocked by the water of the waterfall, eyes closed._

_These reminiscences and revelations completely turned my brain._

_I can’t even tell the difference between my life as Katerina and my divine life anymore. And now I’m losing control in front of Noelle and Asta._

_What would happen if I were to lose control in front of my father or Julius?_

_I’ll just have to desert the country and become an outlaw._

_The smell of black musk and sandalwood is felt again. My heart is accelerating. I fear to open my eyes._

_I freeze for a few minutes, or forever, I don’t know._

_The fragrance never leaves my nose._

_If I open my eyes, I’m gonna have to assume a conversation that I don’t necessarily want to have._

_"I know you’re pretending to be asleep, Kat." Sound the cheerful voice of the man who occupied my dreams._

_I’m opening my eyes._

_Julius._

_He smiles kindly at me._

_**Tu-dum  
Tu-dum  
Tu-dum** _

_I feel Nefertiri synchronizing with me. I feel his love for this man._

_And I feel my distress skyrocket. I feel my own weakness._

_It’s love that killed them. I won’t make the same mistake._

* * *

_  
  
  
_"What are you doing here, Julius? Don’t you have a mountain of work waiting for you at your desk?" I ask the tall blond while I sit down.

The man starts whistling, his lavender gaze fleeing mine.

"My paperwork may be waiting for me a little longer, I saw that you had captured the group of Diamond soldiers with your little comrades and I wanted to hear your report orally!" He answers me with a smile.

I’m getting stiff. The serious stuff starts....

"Oh, you know, there’s nothing more than what I said to Marx. We arrived at the right time, Asta and I put a good beating on the invader while Noelle covered for us and we brought them back to HQ. "I explain quickly, deliberately omitting the details.

I look away, finding new interest in my sunken grave.

"I would have loved to see you at work! Oh! I have an idea! What if you showed me your memories? I have a little magic trick that allows me to read people’s memories!" exclaims Julius, his star-filled orbs.

I feel my blood leave my face when Julius approaches his hands towards my shoulders. He stops them and bends his head to the side, perplexed.

"... unless you don’t want to? " The tone of his voice is softer, almost pained.

I can hardly swallow my saliva.

"You might not like what you’re about to see." I whisper, tense.

He smiles at me as if to reassure me and puts his hands on my shoulders.

"Don’t say that, come on... I’ve seen a lot of things in my life to..."

He pauses. His lips form a small O, his eyes widen and he frowns. The seconds slowly follow and Julius' emotions with. Astonishment, skepticism, pain, relief. I once again unwittingly stiffened, feeling guilty. I look down, ashamed.

_Do I look like a demon now?_

A hand leaves my shoulder and slips under my chin. With a slight pressure, my face straightens and my eyes meet the sweet stars of the Wizard King.

"You are not a demon. You are human." Julius told me with a firm tone.

His thumb caresses my chin and he keeps his mysterious look, looking for a reaction from me. His hand is soft and warm, causing an internal struggle in my soul.

My _Nefertiri_ side burns my bowels, wanting to throw herself into his arms in search of comfort.

My _goddess_ side grips my heart like a vice, wishing to unite with this man as if her life depended on it.

And _I_ just want to break this physical contact, haunted by those memories that become mine and my will to save him, omitting any feelings and emotions that could harm us.

  
  
I close my eyelids while sighing, trapped in my own lives. I feel Julius' mind scanning my thoughts as if he were searching for my usual internal thoughts but he finds nothing in them except a mental barrier that I gradually erect around me. High ramparts, smooth and without roughness, impossible to cross and flawless. A modern mental Chinese Wall. He releases my chin, sighing in his turn.

I opened my eyes again and saw him gaze at the water, leaning on his thighs, his hands crossed and his head resting on it. The light warm afternoon breeze blows into his hair, his strands undulate like a wheat field.

I dare not break the heavy silence. I only observe the man beside me. My heart and guts are in pain and I retain a grimace of discomfort. Nevertheless, I manage to articulate a few words.

"I’m not human anymore. I don’t even know who I am anymore."

Julius immediately stands up and turns to me again. His expression is serious.

"What happened that night, Katerina? And I want the truth."

I can’t tell him everything. Not now. Not until I find out the truth in the Underworld. I don’t know the connection between us, I can’t risk screwing up.

I take my courage with both hands, torn by the pain that starts to shake my body.  
"I... someone, or something, came to visit me that night. When I woke up, I smelled the remnants of his magic. By using my Egyptian incarnation, I think I unlocked some access to my memories of that life and saw everything in my dream, while I was sleeping. And I find it very difficult to accept them. Even though I said I accepted my divine ancestry, I think I lied to myself. I don’t accept it. Not with what I’ve seen. I saw happiness in it, of course, but I saw extreme violence, immeasurable pain, a truth that had been hidden from me for almost four millennia. I can’t trust my own memories. I can’t trust my emotions. I need to find the Gate and go to Hell to figure this out."

The pain that runs through my being turns into a burning resolution, I agree with all my lives. Flames appear on my skin and encompass my body.

Julius sits on the stone block to face me, moving his robe with a skillful gesture.

"I bet you don’t want to tell me what you remember, do you?"

I’m shaking my head.

"Not just yet..."

"Who came to see you that night?" He asks me, skeptic.

My flames increase in volume, they are close to him. But he doesn't move an inch.

This smell of black musk and sandalwood is the one that belongs to his magic but yet, it is not him who came to visit me. I dig into my memory to find out where I could have smelled it and...

There’s only one person whose magic smells the same.  
  
"I’m not sure about the person. At least, it’s impossible for it to be them." I avoid the question while telling her the truth.

"Why?" Continues Julius, somewhat insistent.

"Because two people cannot have the same magic essence." Words come out of my mouth and I slam my hand on it, eyes widened by my own stupidity. My flames grow a little bigger, about to swallow the Wizard King and I’m about to jump back when he grabs me by the wrist. Frightened, I try to escape but his grip tightens and the flames lick his hand, his arm, to finally encompass him. I panic, giggling more and more, losing control of my magic.

_Please let me go... I don’t want to burn you._

A reassuring smile appears on his face and his eyes soften.

_Calm down. Just watch, you’re not hurting me._

My body and my brain stop working. I mechanically sit down in seiza facing Julius.

My flames form a dome filled around us and Julius does not seem to suffer because of my magic. He seems admiring, observing the purple and golden volutes undulate on his body. Even in such a situation, he keeps an undeniable coolness and his passion for magic.

"Even if you are in doubt, you remain human. Even though you beat up the leader of Diamond’s group of wizards, you were able to stop yourself thanks to Noelle. Even if you lose control of your powers now, subconsciously you know you can’t hurt your loved ones. Your flames are warm, comforting to your loved ones but also destructive and as hot as the sun for your enemies. Duality is part of humanity, you are human. You are not just a goddess."  
  
His words pierce my being. Julius moves his hand through the dome, as if caressing the liquid flames, his ingenuous eyes sparkling with curiosity. Calmness slowly returns in me, my own eyes hypnotized by the gestures of the man in front of me. His hand moves on my left hand and holds it, his thumb stroking the palm. Little by little, my flames fade and disappear into my heart. Julius' smile grows.

"Trust yourself a little more, Katerina." He said to me, joyful.

I feel Nefertiri melt before Julius' smile and the goddess languishes. I inhale a big breath of air and block myself when my lungs are full to the fullest, realizing that Julius has still not let go of my wrist. My eyes oscillate between his hand, my wrist and him when he realizes it and releases me instantly.

"Ah, sorry, I didn’t want to stick you so hard and so long!" Julius apologizes by shaking his hands in the air. Scratching the back of his head, a little embarrassed.

I breathe out loud, blushing and embarrassed in turn.

"Oh, don’t worry, it’s just... I’m not tactile for a dime in this life. I only accept my parents, usually. A trait inherited from my mother, you know?"

A burst of laughter delights my ears.

"That’s good to know!" Julius said to me after he calmed down.

His face is getting serious again.

"I have a few questions to ask you, if you don’t mind." He suddenly picks up.

I stand up, looking him straight in the eye. Julius understands my silence and continues.  
  
"The person who came to see you that night and probably caused your reminiscences is potentially a threat to Clover and as the Wizard King I cannot ignore his coming to my kingdom. You told me that he or she had the same magical essence as another person. I need to know what the smell of their magic is and who it belongs to, too."

My body goes into panic mode and it seems that my other two personalities agree with me. Sweat is forming on my temples and my gaze is fleeting. I laugh nervously.

"Katerina Bellafotia, I’m waiting for an answer." Julius commands me, teasing.

Nefer' and the goddess gloat in front of the blond’s smile in front of me and my own hormones do not know how to react. In a second, I get up from the block to throw myself into the water but I run into a red mass much faster than I am. An arm passes around my shoulders and sits me down on the block of stone, to be placed between my sunken grave and me.

"You won't do the same to me a second time in two days, Katerina." Warns me the sweet voice of Julius.

The tall blond overhangs me from all his height, arms crossed and a predatory air on his face. My two internal cheerleaders are partying and giving me a hard time while my hormones are melting, my brain trying to reason with them.

I bow my head as a sign of defeat and hear a small noise of satisfaction.

"Black musk and sandalwood."

"Sorry?"

I whine, embarrassed to the highest degree.

"I said, black musk and sandalwood!"

Julius leans his head to the side and scratches his chin. He then raises his index finger in the air.

"Ahhh! You’re talking about the smell of magic! Tell me, whose smell is that?"  
  
My two inner voices are getting louder and louder in my head, babbling admiring words about Julius that distract me and prevent me from thinking about another escape plan.

I’m down, I let go.

"You. And also to my Guardian"

Julius freezes himself, his predatory smile turning into a thoughtful smile. His look is heavy and I do not feel comfortable. One minute goes by in silence, then a second.

"Second question!"

I jump on the spot with a small squeak. Julius' expression has become friendly again.

"Why, when you speak to me, you are formal and when you think and I intercept your thoughts, you are more familiar?"

The question takes me by surprise, but my answer is instantaneous.

"Momentary weakness."

Julius laughs warmly. My inner voices have been silenced, gaped and admired.

I look up to the sky.

"I really need to do a job on myself, my case is schizophrenia." I whisper in my beard.

Julius looks at me, lost.  
  
"What’s wrong?" he asks me, leaning towards me.

_TOO CLOSE!!!_

"Everything's okay!" I answer him by shaking my hands in front of me.

"Ah, okay... Third and final question! Why did you erect a mental wall around you, right when I tried to read your thoughts?"

"Simply to avoid other annoying situations. And, Zeus is my witness, I am good at putting myself in annoying situations." I answer him, obviously embarrassed.

I can’t tell the Wizard King that I don’t want him to hear my thoughts again at the risk of finding out the truth.

But this man is far from being stupid, one day he will ask me to account, if I am not dead in the meantime.

I’m trying to change the subject.

"QUESTION! Why are you here when you told me you had work over your head? Between the attack on the city, Fuegoleon in a coma and these morons I picked up with Asta and Noelle you don’t necessarily have time to take care of my problems!"

My question leaves Julius speechless. He stretches towards the sky, his bones cracking as he goes.

"Your father contacted me this morning by message. He told me that you had a terrible night and that it was related to your goddess background. He’s very worried and hopes you’ll open up a little more if I talk to you. My status requires me to investigate for the sake of Clover, but that’s not why I’m helping you." He simply replied, observing the waterfall.  
  
"What makes you want to help me then?" I ask Julius, a knot forming again in my stomach." Is it because you’re friends with my father?" I pick up, puzzled.

A long silence ensued. Julius seems to be caught by the movement of the water, the reflections of the liquid mirroring in his pupils while mine are caught by this man who is strangely familiar to me. Like a drop of water in a peaceful lake, his voice comes to disturb the silence.

"No. I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel like I have to help you. No, the word is too weak. I’m sure I have to help you no matter what." He finally answers, his eyes anchoring in mine with an intensity destabilizing my heart and disturbing my soul.

I feel my lips moving but no sound comes out. I feel the sun’s rays on my skin, but no heat. I feel the sounds coming to my ears but I don’t hear them.

_I can only feel your piercing gaze seeping into my heart._

The world seems to be slowing down, freezing. I close my eyelids for a moment, and black overwhelms me.

* * *

_The sound of seagulls fills my ears. The smell of iodine fills my nostrils. I open my eyes, I am on a beach of fine sand, my bare feet play with it. I turn around, I see rocks as far as the eye can see. In front of me, the ocean. To my right, a maritime town quite close to us, to my left, Julius excavating the rocks._

_I approach him, he stops poking around between the stones, stands up and smiles at me._

_"We found it, Kat. The Portal is here." He announces to me, proud, pointing his finger at the cut stone he dug up._

_The block contains a familiar engraving, an inverted pentagram. I smile to Julius and caress the stone that ignites at my touch, but I do not feel the heat of the flames.  
  
I don’t hear seagull noises in the air anymore._

_I can’t hear the waves anymore._

_I can’t feel the sand under my feet or the smell of iodine._

_I can only feel your piercing gaze seeping into my heart._

_The world freezes again, my eyelids close for a moment, and black overwhelms me._

* * *

A soft, diffuse light.

The sweet crackling of a wood fire.

The smell of burnt pine wood.

And the intoxicating scent of black musk and sandalwood.

My lungs suddenly fill with these scents, I breathe as if my life depends on those. I get up quickly, too fast, I feel dizzy. Arms secure me and keep me from falling. I hear a voice in the distance, a hand caresses my hair. Regular heartbeats pulsate under my cheek, calm but powerful. They soothe me.

My arms unconsciously surround the person who is rocking me and I hold him close to me, just once.

_I wish this moment would last forever._

_  
  
_"I’m flattered, Miss Bellafotia."

I raise my head and my heart stops.

I’m literally face to face with Julius.

With the Wizard King.

I can feel his breath against my skin.

And my longing to kiss him passionately.

"Ah... Oh..."

My brain follows my heart and stops its function. It goes into survival mode. My body releases itself from Julius' embrace and rolls on what appears to be a bed, up to the feet of the bed and the floor. My gene is intense.

"By all the gods, can anyone explain to me what is going on? Where am I?" I exclaim, confused.

Julius gets up from the canopy bed, approaches me and holds out his hand to me. I accept it, he sticks it up and lifts me up with a single movement.

"Let’s go next door, breakfast is waiting for us. I’ll explain everything, don’t worry." says Julius, an indecipherable expression painted on his face.

_Breakfast? What day is it?!_

I quickly check my wrist.

117.

Monday.... It’s Monday. I slept two days.  
  
And I’m having breakfast with Julius.

First of all, the coffee. A good cup of coffee will get me back on my feet. I use this saving drink while Julius opts for a green tea, embellished with a teaspoon of honey. I drink a sip of my elixir of life and then take a look full of incomprehension at my host who puts his own porcelain cup in his cup. The handsome blond leans against his chair, his hands crossed.

"What’s the last thing you remember?" He just asks me, taking the temperature.

I’ll take a bite of my croissant and chew it.

My last memory...?

"I believe... that we were discussing near my sunken grave, you said that it was not because of your duty as the Wizard King that you were helping me. Then I remember it all getting blurry, and I came to a beach. You were there, too, and..."

"And I had found the Gate, didn’t I?" Ends Julius, his eyes bearing an intense glow.

I agree with that.

"As I was talking to you, I saw you pale at a dizzying speed. You were completely frozen, your eyes were white. I felt that your magic had gone out of control and within two minutes, you collapsed into a convulsion. I took you to José, I brought in Marx, and using their powers, they understood that you had received a vision indicating the position of the Portal, to Raquey. You scared us all to death, though." He tells me, taking another sip of his tea.  
  
My last piece of croissant gets stuck in my throat. I almost choke and pass it off with coffee.

"How is it that I am here? Besides, where are we? Why am I not at my father’s?"

When I ask this question, I realize that I do not know what I am in. I look at my gear and I see sky blue silk pajamas, a shirt and pants. I sigh for relief. At least I’m not in a compromising outfit.

"We are in my private apartments. For reasons that escape me, your spasmodic attacks happen when I'm far from you, and for your health we have agreed with your father that it is better that I watch over you until you wake up. Of course, I told Yami, who is going to make you work twice as hard once you get better."

My head falls heavily on the table in a big _boom_ , shaking the objects and food on it.

"To believe that I was born to piss the world off..." I whine, ashamed. I turn my head and my cheek sticks against the cold wooden table, eyes riveted on the window.

"Let’s say your life is full of twists and turns." Laughs Julius, while finishing his cup of tea.

"I’m sorry I stayed at your appartments for two days... I hate being a dead weight."  
  
A burst of laughter fills the room. I stand up, my eyebrows frowned. In front of my outraged air, Julius stops laughing and with his warm smile, resumes.

"It’s safe to say that you were a dead weight, especially when the first night you grabbed my wrist, threw me into bed and rolled half over me without giving me a chance to run away. You who said not to be tactile, I see that's false! I had no choice but to sleep, when I woke up you had changed your target and taken the pillow."

My head falls back and hits the backrest. My heart misses a beat and I feel my inner voices again gloating and taunting me. I slap myself, hoping the pain reaches those two vipers who serve me as past lives.

"I kidnapped the Wizard King... I thought he was a bamboo and I thought I was a panda. Aaahhh.... What a shame. I have to get to the damn Gate as fast as I can, get my damn life in order, and get to that damn Titan as fast as I can." I moan, my fingers slipping through my hair, pulling them occasionally.

"When you’re fully back on your feet. The priority is that you regulate your magic, I don’t know what exactly did the person who visited you the night of the Black Bull party but one thing is certain: your powers are free wheeling and your mana is unstable. You might hurt yourself, and given your countdown, you can’t afford a single misstep. For my part, I will find out about this magic imprint, if it is similar to mine I should not have too much trouble finding it." Announces Julius, lost in his thoughts.

I find nothing to say to him. I feel cornered, by my own life and by destiny. The words of my father come to mind and it seems that I must finally delegate my burden a little.

* * *

  
Breakfast ends quietly and after greeting Julius and apologizing a hundred times in a minute, I reach the house. My dad’s at work, so I’m free to go.

I head down to the basement where Dad’s workshop is and rummage through the drawers looking for gems. I draw two semi-precious but powerful stones.

An amethyst and a pink quartz.

I take out the tools and start to shape the stones. My concentration is intense, time no longer matters. The amethyst takes the form of a drop, which I set in a silver case. This necklace will serve as a catalyst.

I switch to pink quartz, which is the size of a baseball. This one will have to remain secret, I will be punished by my father and Julius if they learn what I intend to do with it.

As I polished the quartz, my inner voices grumbled and chastised me, begging me to stop my work. I feel my left eye crying on its own but I ignore this reaction.

_**Why create a prison for your emotions? You will end up like us, you will lose everything!** _

"I’m not going to lose anything. It’s just a safety net, a way of not losing control."

_**Because becoming an empty shell is a safety net to you?** _

"I have a purpose. A mission. I don’t call it be an empty shell."

  
  
_**It is your feelings that give you this mission. Do not reject them.** _

"I don’t reject them. I just intend to... lock them up if necessary."

_**It’s a programmed leak.** _

"It's not you who live with voices in the head. If I don't make this stone, madness will carry me away before."

_**We are you. And you are us.** _

"I am Katerina Bella. I am myself, I never wanted to be more."

_**You have no choice, neither have we.** _

"That’s why I’m doing this fucking rock. 'Cause I’ve never had a fucking choice."

_**This is not the way to go. You’re going to hurt more people than you’re going to save.** _

"It is not up to you to decide. I WILL TRACE MY LIFE AND SAVE JULIUS!"

My fist clenches and plunges into the workbench, breaking it in half. The cut stones roll to the ground, the pain in my knuckles is sharp, the blood beads on the broken wood. I slide down on my knees, exhausted. I put the amethyst around my neck, the cold chain contrasting with my burning skin. I feel my mana calm. I sigh, relieved. My gaze is on pink quartz, polished to perfection in a sphere the size of an orange.

"If I have to seal my heart to save the ones I love, I will do it without hesitation. No one will steal my most precious thing anymore. I will succeed where you failed, ladies. I will succeed where I failed, for lack of guts."

If I am to become... No. To become again the monstrous goddess that I was, I will. But first of all...

The Underworld is waiting for me.  
  
  



End file.
